Card Captor Death
by Starlife
Summary: What happens when Duo happens to unleash a hoard of Sakura Cards into the world of AC195......and how he must become a Card Captor to get them back. [Shounen-ai, 1221][Finally! Chapter 12 up]
1. The Newest Card Captor

Okay, strange as this may seem, I just got a sudden idea one day and began to write this story. It's a crossover between Card Captors and Gundam Wing, with Duo as a Card Captor. Why Duo? Because out of the five G-boys he is the one with the most street smarts, along with a little clever thought to help him in capturing cards. Not to mention he can be most creative when it comes to using cards. Duo could cause OZ a lot of trouble. He is also strong in a mental and emotional sense. Duo Maxwell would probably get along with Kero.

If you don't know much about CCS, it doesn't matter because the important stuff would be explained and Kinomoto Sakura, unfortunately, would not be a main part of this story. It is focused mainly on Duo Maxwell. Might become shounen-ai; depends. 

I don't own Gundam Wing, I don't own CCS either. I own this story.

Chapter I -_ The Newest Card Captor_

He was the first back from the mission. That, was unusual. Duo didn't see any of the others as he flew back, but from the reports that were given he knew that the other pilots were alright. Of course, it seemed strange that the large mansion of a safehouse Quatre had provided was quiet. Sighing, Duo trampled into the house after trudging from where he hid his Gundam. 

After dropping off the disc he had to get, the pilot of Deathscythe zipped straight to the bathroom for a shower, relishing the steamy heat and relaxing. By the time he had toweled himself dry and changed his clothes as well as blown his hair dry, it was well over one hour since he came back. He frowned as he stared at the alarm clock perched on top of a stack of mangas. Its glowing green letters stated that the time was 1900hrs. Just then a phone beeped. Duo scowled deeply and looked around the room. Which of his seventeen phones were ringing? And where was it? It took eight long rings before Duo finally popped out of the mess of socks he had and crowed, "Found it!" 

Promptly Duo pressed the button after the ninth ring. "Hello?"

"Hello, Duo? This is Quatre."

"Yeah, I know, I can recognize your voice. Where are you guys?"

"We're taking temporary residence in a nearby town. A squadron of Leos attacked after you got off with the disc. We managed to destroy a large number before retreating to treat some minor injuries." Duo could hear the little blonde huff on the other end of the phone. "Ha. Like a broken arm is 'minor'."

"Broken arm???"

Quatre sensed the worry in the other's tone. "Uh, Duo, nothing too serious. Oops-dinner's ready. You're going to have to stay the night yourself at the mansion, Duo. We're not going to be back until noon tomorrow. We need to get some supplies. Bye!"

And he hung up. Duo stared at the phone in disbelief. One night. That was easy, right? Not if it was a four hundred acre house with three floors and a swimming pool. That was absolutely boring. And boring was one of the few things in the entire world Duo Maxwell, Shinigami, was afraid of. Not to mention that any loud noises tended to echo creepily in the mansion. He stared outside down the long hall. "It's just silence, right?"

There was no answer.

"YAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!" This yell was done purely out of amusement and curiosity. Duo blinked as he listened to the calls ringing back to him. Sighing, the pilot turned the other way to walk downstairs.

Gurgle. 

Whirling around, Duo dropped into a fighting stance. He glanced around the empty corridor. No one was there. Frowning, Duo straightened and looked down the hallway, trying to see further. Shrugging, he turned around and headed towards the stairs again. 

Gurgle.

The slight sloshing sound did not go unnoticed by Duo's unusually attuned ears. He spun his heel around, gun out and aimed. "Whoever you are, come out right now!" Yet there was no one there. 

Advancing slowly, Duo crept past his room and absently shut the door in the process. He stalked to the door of Heero's room and opened it, trying to locate the origin of the noise. There was nothing but a neatly made bed and a clear desk, with a closed laptop sitting on the surface, of course. Scowling, Duo tucked his gun back into the holster and closed the door, wondering if he should dye all of Heero's spandex pink.....

As he continued to scan all the rooms, Duo thought he felt oddly.....strange. Like he was experiencing something new. It wasn't exactly a bad feeling.......Sighing impatiently, Duo's hand reached for the knob of the last door in the hallway. As he twisted it, Duo was prepared. He peeked inside.

It was one of those private libraries, the ones with an ellipsoid oak table sitting in the center of a plush dark green rug. The polished surface was gleaming brightly from the rays of sunset streaming from an open Monticello window. The matching green drapes that hung by the window were parted, and mahogany bookcases lined the walls, filled from top to bottom with various books. But what intrigued him the most wasn't the expensive furnishings of the room.

Deliberately walking into the room, his soft steps muffed by the rug, Duo's hand reached for the book lying randomly on the center of the table. It was glowing; unless it had some kind of OZ bug in it, he was curious and wanted to see what exactly it was. Duo picked the book up.

And discovered it was pink.

Almost immediately he was tempted to drop it. If it was pink, it was probably one of the Peacecraft's possessions. But something in him told him to hold onto it, to open it.......The letters on the cover spelled out the name, "SAKURA", and he could see odd designs and a gold star with wings on the cover. The seal was a small white wing, and it seemed to have opened by itself. Duo blinked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He tipped open the cover. "Okay.....so this is strange." 

He picked up was a pink and white card. It was somewhat longer than a playing card, with a faint resemblance to tarot cards. "I didn't know that Quatre kept tarot cards in a glowing book." Taking the card out, Duo balanced the book in one arm as he flipped the card over. "Okay.....The Firey. I find that very thrilling.....How the hell does one interpret these things?" He sweatdropped. "Gee, I just turned over a fire card.....That isn't bad, is it?"

While he was pondering the card, Duo shook his head. "What am I thinking? It's just cards, Duo, stop being an idiot." He chuckled to himself. _You wish_, he thought, placing the card on the table. He fished out the next card, noted the strange symbols of the circle on the back, and flipped over to read the name. "This one is the Shadow. Strange....oddly creepy yet cool at the same time. The picture looks like those evil men you see in fantasy movies........"

Tossing it to join the other card on the table, Duo proceeded to pick out a third card. He laughed when he saw the name. "The Flower? Man, I'd never interpret these things." He placed the one with the others and pulled out a bunch, setting the book down on the table to heft through the pile in his hands. "The Light, The Dark, The Maze, The Mist-god, what kind of cards are these? There's no sign of the regular tarot cards, like the Hermit or the Death."

Duo shuffled through the various cards, observing the pictures and names of the cards. "I don't understand these at all." The sun slipped beneath the horizon, bathing the world in a wonderful glow before vanishing slowly. Duo blinked, noticing the slightly darker surroundings. He turned to go to the light switch.

This, obviously, was where everything started to go wrong. 

One, when he reached the light switch, the electricity just simply would not come on. He was contemplating whether or not there was a problem with the circuits. 

Two, the cards on the table slowly gained light, shimmering faintly as one pile.

Three, the Monticello window was still open. This provided some chilly winds for the effect of what was about to happen next.

A huge column of roaring light blasted from the cards, unleashing differently colored beams in every direction. Duo whirled around, his fingers unconsciously gripping the glowing cards in his hands tighter. His violet eyes widened until his eyeballs were about to pop out. 

_Heero's gonna kill me!_ was his first discernible thought. This strange light was blinding and the book obviously wasn't normal. It had to be some kind of OZ thing. Cards began to whirl in a twisting tornado around the table, escaping the book as well. Duo blinked, and then his instincts came to life. He yelped and cards that were in his hand slipped as he dove for the table. Shoving what he could catch back into the book, he slammed it shut and locked it. Cards continued to fly haphazardly around the library and some burst out the window. The worst part was that they were still glowing.

"Quatre's not going to be happy about the mess I made of his library," Duo muttered. He gaped as cards disappeared through the ceiling, escaping the confinements of the room. "Oh man! What kind of sensors are these things? Has OZ developed some kind of new technology we don't know about???"

Then, as abruptly as it started, all the light disappeared and the Deathscythe pilot was plunged into darkness. Duo tripped immediately, his fingers grasping the book with him. Groping around for a wall, he bumped into a bookcase and the back of his head struck a shelf. "K'so!" He cursed loudly as he stood up, wobbling unsteadily. Duo scowled deeply and traced the shelves back to where his sense of direction said the door was. His hand grabbed the knob and he stumbled out of the creepy room, nearly falling again with his clumsiness. Lucky for the American he managed to grab onto the edge of a sideboard and then had to fix a tipping Ming vase. 

Wiping his brow, Duo hissed one last curse and swept down the hallway to his room, closing the door behind him. "I am really hating this one night alone thing. There is nobody to bother and now I've found some strange book and-Ahh!!!!" Dropping the said item, Duo backed away from it as the cover flipped open and a yellow ball emerged. 

Looking closer, he realized that it was really a head......and then a body came out. Instead of reaching for it to rip it out, Duo demonstrated an unusual patience, eyes wide with shock at the anticipation of what apparently was a yellow teddy bear with wings.

It yawned.

It stretched.

And then it-

"HEEELLLLLLLOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

The unexpected greeting from a teddy bear, nevertheless, stunned Duo to the point where he nearly became stone. He stared fixedly at the small yellow beast that was now zooming around his messy room.

"I haven't been out for two thousand years!" The teddy bear was saying. "You know, my stomach is positively growling for food. I mean, if you were trapped in a book for two thousand years you would be hungry also....but lucky for me Sakura cast a special spell on the book to make me not hungry......"

_Heero thinks I'm talkative? Wait till he meets the teddy bear._

"And I am soooo glad you let me out! Two millennia! I never quite expected it to be that long! But the last time Sakura had released all the cards except the Windy......." The bear turned a critical eye to the book......and yelled. That snapped Duo out of his reverie. 

"WAAAAHHHHH!!!!! Where are half the cards???!!! They're missing! The Firey, The Earthy, and The Windy-gone! Yue is going to kill me......We weren't supposed to let any cards escape this time! What am I going to do? What am I going to DO???" 

Zipping around, the small animal nearly knocked into Duo, who had stood up and reached out to grab the book. He tipped all the contents out and examined it thoroughly, making sure that nothing of the book was mechanical. He frowned when he realized it was an ordinary book, and then turned to the agitated beast. "Who the hell are you?"

Stopping all motion, the teddy bear froze and slowly turned his head to the other occupant of the room. The expression on his face was blank. Then there was registered shock.

"You aren't the one who opened the book, were you?" asked the bear in hushed tones.

"So what?" snapped the irate boy. "I bet plenty of people shuffled through that tarot card book of yours! You're from OZ, aren't you? What the hell were you doing in that book? Ugh-you.....just.....came from it! It isn't even possible to fit something of your size into the thin cover of a book!" 

"It is not just a book!" the yellow UFO shouted back, taking the conversation to a higher tone. If it was considered a conversation. 

"Okay, OZ is getting dreadfully pathetic. Yellow teddy bears that yell at you? Sent to a Gundam pilot too? What kind of sick idea is this???" 

"I have no idea what in the world you are talking about!!!" yelled the animal in response. "I have been in that book for two thousand years! How do I know what is going on about this OZ you are talking about? But my poor cards......They're dangerous!" 

Duo stopped and stared at the bear, eyes narrowing perceptibly. "What do you mean those cards are dangerous?"

"That is one long story.....er, Mr......."

"I'm Duo Maxwell. And don't call me mister. Makes me feel old. Are you sure you're not with OZ?" Duo had a sudden urge to trust this little thing......almost as if a sixth sense knew that this bear was trustworthy.

"I have no clue to what you are talking about, Maxwell-san. You were the one that opened that book?" It looked at him with pleading eyes. "You did, didn't you?"

"Eh......no." Duo caught the hints of yet another wail and quickly added, "It kinda opened by itself!" 

The bear had opened his mouth wide and was about to yell when he stopped. "It opened.....by itself?" 

Duo nodded fervently. "I....didn't do anything wrong, right?" Mentally he slapped himself. 

_Baka! You do everything wrong!_

"......."

"Hello?" The American peered into the bear's face.

"You let the cards out......that means you have magic......" 

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait a second! What the HELL are you talking about? Magic? Man, I've finally gone nuts!" Duo shook his head. "This is crazy! I'm like opening a book, releasing some teddy bear monster, and now I've just been told I have magic? No way! That stuff does NOT exist! Nuh uh!"

As Duo ranted on the teddy bear was staring vacantly. This......delusional freak was going to be his next master? He swept the thought away. He couldn't judge people before he knew them! 

"Shut!" 

The American stopped in mid-rant and looked questionably at the yellow bear, who coughed. 

".......As you probably already know, I am Keroberos, Guardian beast of the Sakura Book." 

Duo sweatdropped. _He did NOT mention his name_. 

"You have opened the book, Duo Maxwell, and released some of the cards. You're going to have to get them back." 

"WHAT???"

"Duo, you released potentially dangerous and consequently hazardous cards that are wreaking havoc as we speak. If you're not going to take care of it, that fine! Let the world come crashing down on you! Let them turn Earth into hell!"

"Dude, Earth is already hell."

"My name is KEROBEROS, not dude!"

_He acts a lot like Wufei_, Duo mused. "So why do I have to do the job? Find someone else!"

"Because," shouted Keroberos, "you're the one who opened the book! It's your responsibility!"

"Says who?" Duo fired back.

"It's your destiny!" snapped the irritated bear. "You have to be responsible for the destruction that you caused! You have to become a Card Captor and bring those cards back!"

"I can't become a Card Captor!" Duo glared. 

"Why not?" Keroberos asked in an accusing tone. For equal measure he added, "And don't tell me you're too young." 

".......Because I'm a Gundam pilot!" yelled the American. "Missions come anytime and I can't capture your stupid cards!"_ Never thought one day I would be glad for the missions._

"So? You can do both!" 

Duo face faulted. He popped up again. "I don't know how to capture cards!" He threw his hands up in exasperation. "How can I help you when I don't know how?"

"You'll know when time comes. Please? Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease-" Keroberos put on the dish-sized watery eyes. 

_I hate that look. It's the look that Quatre always gives people when he wants something....._. 

Groaning, Duo slapped a hand over his eyes. "Okay! I'll help! Sheesh!" He snatched a pillow from his bed and covered his head with it. "Just leave me alone!"

_ Why didn't I ever leave Wufei alone? Oh yeah.....because it was fun to pester him._

"Sugoi!" Keroberos now zipped around the room, cheering. He stopped in midair as a manga flew towards him and knocked him into the wall. "Hey!"

"Shut up," came Duo's muffed voice. He sat up in bed, pushing off some of the magazines. "What the hell am I supposed to do as a Card Captor anyway? I warned you that I wouldn't know how." 

"It's going to be a piece of cake." Kero grinned. Then his stomach growled. Sweatdrops. "Is there anything to eat?"

"You're in luck," Duo grumbled. "Quatre's fridge is stocked to the point where it'll burst. If we're not careful." He sighed and stood up, brushing off different items of clothing and mangas.

Keroberos stared, and for once took a good look around the room. "Not the neatest person, are you?"

Duo pulled a sock off his shoulder and flung it under the bed. "Nope," he replied cheerfully. "Got a problem with that?" Keroberos looked distastefully at the mess. Correct that: _messes_. 

"Last time I roomed in a drawer, not a sock pile," mumbled Kero.

"We're going to be moving around a lot, so don't get settled," Duo called over his shoulder as he approached the stairwell. "All the drawers in the bureau are empty. You have a deluxe house right there. Wanna eat first?" 

"Wait for me!"

~*~*~ 

"Oh, that was good....." Kero burped. He tipped over backward, the large weight in his stomach keeping him down.

Duo sighed as he dumped the last dish in the dishwasher. Two empty ice cream cartons entered the garbage, along with six cups of vanilla pudding and also a box of French delicacies that Duo *happened* to find......

"You bet. Heero and Quatre are going to kill me. And you were the one that ate four of the six puddings."

"Who is this *hero* you keep on talking about?" asked Kero curiously. Duo winked and closed the dishwasher, turning it on. 

"Heero Yuy. Double the e in Heero. A really scary suicidal Japanese Gundam pilot that happens to be awfully hot."

"What's a Gundam pilot?" Kero turned over on his side, swishing his tail lazily. "You keep on saying that you're one." 

"I'll explain that later. Right now I want you to tell me who exactly you are, what I am supposed to do, and what does this book thingy have to do with me." Duo put on his best commanding voice and imitated Heero's glare.

"It is not a book thingy," Keroberos shot back, an annoyed expression etched in his face. "It was formerly the Clow Book, created and sealed by Clow Reed the great magician himself."

"Who's that?" Duo cast a worried glance at the dishwasher, checking the controls to make sure he set it right. Last time.....it wasn't a pleasant memory. Especially when it involved one psychotic Zero-System Quatre.

"Clow Reed was a great magician that lived years ago," Kero replied. He frowned slightly at the expression on Duo's face. _Yue wasn't going to be pleased to find out his new master is going to be a clueless baka_. 

"Okay........but that's about all I know about him, except that he 'created' the Clow Book. So why does the book say Sakura?" 

"I'm getting to that, baka!" The yellow beast snapped irritably. "Clow Reed isn't immortal you know, so he had to pass the book onto someone else. That someone else was Kinomoto Sakura, my previous master," said Kero proudly. "She was one of the most powerful sorceresses of her time. Sakura captured the cards and transformed them into Sakura Cards." 

"You speak of her as if she was a saint." Duo frowned. "So where is she now?"

"She sealed me in the book two thousand years ago."

"Oh." _That means the obvious. She's DEAD_.

While the slight rumble of the dishwasher vibrated for a second in the silence of the kitchen, Duo scratched his chin. "And what does all this business have to do with me?"

"Simple. Clow Reed had ruled that each person who opens the seal and releases the cards will become Card Captor. That person would have to capture all the cards in order to keep them under control." Kero sat up and looked at Duo square in the eyes, as the American had sat down at the table resting his chin on top of his overlapped hands. "The cards are very dangerous, Duo. They are capable of mass destruction using the magical powers that Clow Reed had stored in them. Cards like the Elementals-The Firey, The Windy, The Earthy, and The Watery-they are powerful and can wreak even more havoc than any of the other cards. If you don't capture them, they'll run loose." 

"Whoa." He sat up, shifting uneasily in his chair. "You make it sound like a really horrible thing." 

"IT IS A HORRIBLE THING!!!!"

"Okay, okay, I get your point." Duo sighed. "But how do we even find these things? You yourself said they escaped. It's a huge world out there, you know." He leaned back and propped his legs up on the table, tucking his hands behind his head. "I'll have to scour the world to find those things."

"You don't need to find them," Keroberos snapped, annoyed. "They'll come around. You'll be able to sense them when they're here."

In response the American sighed. "I don't know HOW, dude. How do I capture cards?"

"Not dude, baka. Even Kero is better than 'dude'. It's embarrassing to be called that." 

"All right then, Kero, how do I capture cards? Using my Gundam?"

"No," the beast replied flatly. "I don't know what gun damn you're talking about, but you use the staff."

"Gun-DAM, not gun damn." Twiddling with the end of his braid, Duo blinked. "What staff?"

"Ugh!!!" Kero slapped himself on the head. "I totally forgot! Get up and stand by the dishwasher."

"Why?"

"If you want to get your job over with, then do it!" Kero grit his teeth. "That's the only way you can get the staff."

"Okay......" Duo pushed his chair back. "You know, being a Gundam pilot makes us five cautious, so we usually like to know what is going on." 

"Five?" Kero raised an eyebrow. "There are five of you?"

"No. Five Gundam pilots. We each pilot a Gundam." 

"Once this is over you'll have to inform me of the changes throughout the two millennia." The yellow animal took a deep breath, floating down to the head of the Sakura Book.

"Key to the seal," he began, and the surroundings shifted, changing into a dark, shadowy area. Duo looked down at the floor. There was a large glowing circle, with crisscrossing designs that overlapped around a star that was flanked by a sun and a moon. _It looks like those astrology things_.

"You have chosen this boy, Duo, to carry out the sacred promise," Kero continued, oblivious to the look that Duo shot him when he mentioned the 'boy' part. "I command you to empower him with the language of the staff." From the seal of the book a small glowing circle emerged, floating out between the two of them. The book was hovering on its own, no longer on the table, which had disappeared. "Release the power!"

Blinding light blasted from the glowing globe, making Duo shield his eyes. He refocused and now saw that the glowing ball had become something that resembled a short scepter topped with a gold star encircled by a pink circle and wings. 

"Take it!" Kero shouted over the roar of wind. When Duo hesitated he waved his arms frantically. "What's wrong?"

"It's PINK!" Duo yelled back. 

The guardian beast sweatdropped. "So what? Just take the staff!" 

Dubiously Duo pushed forward, fighting to walk with his strength. _And I thought blizzards were bad_, he thought. With the final step he nearly lost balance, and managed to snag the staff with his right hand. The winds blew even harder, though this time they whirled in an unseen hurricane around him. Kero cheered in triumph.

"I, Keroberos, Guardian Beast of the Clow Book, name Duo Card Captor!"

All the currents and the shadowy area vanished. Duo glanced around, and then looked down at the pink staff, which he now grasped in both hands. "I'm supposed to capture cards with this thing?" 

"Yep. It's not just a thing. You can use it to channel your powers to summon cards and seal them as well. You'll know how to use it. It's like intuition." 

"But I thought only women had intuition." Duo tossed the staff up in the air in a spin and caught it by the red stone on the bottom. "It just comes? Like that?" he asked, snapping his fingers.

"All you have to do is shout an incantation to release the staff from the key," Kero stated proudly.

"Key?" Duo questioned.

"Yeah. You can't go about carrying a staff all the time when the cards pop up, you know. They can come out any time. You have to be ready at all times, so you'll have to carry the staff around as a pendant key." Kero glared. "And you do not hate it because it is pink. It is your only way to capture cards, whether you like it or not."

"You are turning out to be a really picky little thing," Duo stated, toying with the staff some more.

"Don't forget to keep a pen in your pocket at all times." Kero ignored the snide remark. "You have to sign your name on a card whenever you capture one because that is the only way it would stay sealed. Otherwise the card would escape again."

For once Duo thanked himself for his job. Otherwise he would have taken a lot longer to absorb all the information he was being fed. Kero seemed to come on with an endless amount of rules for the cards alone. How often does a person get told that they have magic? He never even believed in this stuff until he saw it with his own eyes. To Heero this stuff was merely legend and fantasy. Wufei would think he was crazy. Unless he could find something about this card capturing thing worth doing he wouldn't do it.

Duo peered out the kitchen window and frowned. The night was cool for spring, and the skies were clear and filled with stars. But something didn't seemed right. Looking closer, he noticed a small round pink ball bouncing around outside, getting nearer to the house with each bounce. "Uh, Kero, would any card happen to look like a jumpy pink ball?" His expression changed to a blank one when he heard a loud cry from above. "And maybe another card that happens to caw like a chicken?"

"The Jump and Fly cards," Kero answered immediately. "Well, what are you standing for? Go out and get them!"

"That's real nice," responded Duo sarcastically. "You're coming out with me." He snatched the guardian beast from the air and opened the back kitchen door, stepping out into the cold air of fresh spring.

"Of course," the animal sputtered. "It's not like you know what to do." Kero squirmed out of Duo's grasp and looked up. "You know, it seems strange that two Sakura cards would attack at the same time. And this is your first outing too. You're not one much for luck, ne?"

"I don't count on luck," murmured the Deathscythe pilot. "Okay, I think I know which one is Fly and which one is Jump. So now what?"

"The best thing you can do is to use one card to defeat them both." Kero handed Duo the stack of cards he retrieved earlier. "What cards do you have now?"

As he shuffled through the deck Duo noted the odd pictures and names representing the cards. Before he could finish, however, he blinked as he sensed incoming danger. A huge white bird was swooping down on them.

"YAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" He dove for the ground, clenching the cards tightly in his fingers. It passed overhead, sweeping up again in a glide. "Deathscythe would definitely help in this case," he grumbled, popping up and running away from the house. That bird was going to ruin it if he didn't get away. Duo ducked as the pink ball jumped over him. Roughly the pilot slammed into the ground and groaned. "Okay, Kero, you're the brains. You better come up with something fast. Or else we're both toast."

Spinning around in an attempt to find the pink ball of Jump, he found out his disability very quickly. "The Jump card is way to fast for me to even see, much less say catch."

"Use the Wood card!" Kero yelled. The Fly was coming down again, and the Jump card wasn't helping diddly. Both cards seemed to be intent of wrecking Duo's life.

"Wood? Gotcha!" Duo just drew a card, as if by instinct, and knew it was the Wood. Tucking the rest of his deck into his boot, he waited until the Fly card was directly overhead before timing it right and throwing the card up. "Wood Card! Bind the Fly Card and trap the Jump! Release!" He raised the staff brought it in connection to the Wood, unconsciously unleashing his power.

As wanted, the Wood card leapt out just as Fly passed. The time couldn't have been more perfect as strong vines wrapped themselves around the large white bird's wings, extensively growing like shooting sprouts. Green covered Duo's vision, and extra vines had burst together in a bunch and streaked out to cage in the bouncing pink ball. Helplessly Jump pushed against the vines, but they held.

"Now, Duo!"

"Fly and Jump, return to your cards confined! Sakura Cards!"

One lone glowing rectangle materialized at the top of the staff, right in front of the golden five-pointed star. The wings burst and stretched just slightly; wind nipped at his hair, braid twisting behind him. It whipped about in the currents, thumping him on the back. Both of his hands grasped the staff even firmer. He watched as the large bird and pink ball disintegrated into ribbons of color, swallowed by the power of his magic and into the cards where they belongs. The glowing rectangle floated down to him. He caught it with his left hand, spreading it out into three cards. Wood, Jump, and Fly.

"That was crazy," Duo found himself saying. He slumped his shoulders, the knots refusing to leave. "I am wayyyyy past my limits. But," he added, "that was awesome. However crazy it is, I still think I'm not capable of being a Card Captor. You should have asked Heero. He set his own broken leg. I can't even handle a punch in the stomach."

"That's not point, Duo, you need to have magic for this job." Kero's eyebrows furrowed together. "Did you just say your comrade set his own leg?"

"It's typical Heero," the American explained. He groaned, falling on his rear end. "And I'm exhausted. I just took a shower and my clothes are all soiled again, not to mention sweat pouring down my back and I have just about had it with my hair. And I hit the ground when Fly came sweeping down. Now I have a very sore shoulder. I have to go back and take a bath. I have to wash my hair. I have to check out the disc I had to steal. I don't have time for this."

"Ah, how about I show you something that will make you have time?"

"What?" snapped Duo. He wasn't quite in his normally cheerful mood, especially not after facing down what was apparently a huge bird that was non-existent in the 'real' world. It was another one of those specific tasks that Duo knew deep down inside that he couldn't avoid. Besides, he had seen the damage that one card could do. He was sure that the Jump would have jumped at the chance to break all of Quatre's windows if he hadn't moved away from the mansion.

Kero's eyes twinkled. "Call up the Fly or Jump card, your pick."

"What's gonna happen?"

"You'll see."


	2. Silence is Golden

If you think Duo is a little out of character in this chapter, I'm sorry. But since he was a kid that had to survive on the streets, I strongly believe that he is a lot stronger than he lets out to be. Maybe not physically, but mentally. Duo had to have some kind of tough and bold front to keep him alive those fifteen years. And since he is a Card Captor now, I think that he should be given some credit as to being a Gundam pilot. As silly as Duo can be, he is also smart.

Chapter II -_ Silence is Golden_

Groaning, Duo rolled over and peeled open his eyes.

He was on his bed. A bed with a dozen books surrounding him, littered all over the ground. Kero's tail poked out from a makeshift book-tent, and loud snores could be heard.

All the events of last night had caught up with him. Duo groaned again, this time not over the sunlight that was flooding the room, but the fact that it hadn't been a nightmare. It was all real.

It was also too bad to be true.

Wearily he looked up at the clock hanging on the wall. It was 11:43. Grand. Sighing, Duo stood up, leaving a mess of books and cushions in his wake, and paddled towards the bathroom in his pajamas. They both hadn't meant to stay up all night, but Quatre's library had an amazing amount of interesting stories and information on supernatural things. Kero kept up a steady stream of information to supply answers to Duo's various questions. Hastily scrawled notes were tucked into various books to use as bookmarks. The cards were lying in a scattered pile by a large stack of books, after Duo had signed them and Kero had explained each one's use. Lucky for him before he brought the books down that he skipped through the disc on Heero's laptop.

With a foggy mind Duo stumbled towards the bathroom, half slipping. He had retaken a shower and also washed his hair...how long did he stay up? Something close to two...He took one look in the mirror and moaned. His hair was in total disarray and needed to be combed and rebraided. Disheveled, Duo suddenly realized that he never ate dinner, only dessert. And the dishes were still in the dishwasher.

Living alone was hard, he decided. Especially when no one is there to pick up after you.

"Kero? Are you going to wake up or am I going to have to squash you with that book?"

"Baka," came the mumbled response. Duo grinned as he brushed his teeth.

"You're going to have to wake up, Kero, the others are going to come back soon."

"Nani?" Kero peered out from underneath the pages of the book. Pulling himself out, the guardian beast inhaled deeply and zipped up, heading straight downstairs for the kitchen. Kero struggled to open the fridge, and when the door finally swung open he was hit by a tumbling stack of food. "OOF!!!"

Duo rinsed his mouth and spat out the foamy water. After hearing the loud thump below he sweatdropped. "I thought I told him to be careful," he muttered, splashing some water on his face. He turned off the faucet and stared at his reflection in the mirror. "But then again, it's not like I listen to Heero." He snorted derisively. Duo quickly trampled out of the bathroom and managed to set a record time for getting into his clothes. As the pilot braided his hair he managed to edge around all the books.

He bent over and picked up the cards, straightening the deck. His left hand grabbed the pendant on the side table and hooked it around his neck, tucking it into his shirt with his cross. The other hand grasped the stack of cards tightly while his eyes searched for the item he was looking for. Frowning slightly, Duo found his belt and looped it around his waist, buckling it loosely. Sighing in resignation when the object he was looking for could not be found, he shoved the cards into his over shirt's pocket and closed the pocket zipper.

When he entered the kitchen Duo could see slight movement amidst the pile. Kero's head popped out, the animal gasping for air.

"Duo! Get the milk bottle off my tail!" he all but howled. The L2 pilot chuckled and obeyed, lifting various items out of the stack. The rest he shoved back into the refrigerator. Duo shoved the door shut and moved the items he picked out to the counter. However, he still wanted his coffee, which the coffee machine was brewing. As he poured himself a mug and added sugar, Kero watched him with a huge sweatdrop on his bulbous head.

"Aren't you adding a bit too much sugar?"

"Nope," Duo replied, shaking his head. "This is perfectly normal." He drank greedily and finished his cup quickly. "We're gonna eat toast, because that is the one thing I can think of using machine. And even then my cooking or preparing anything isn't safe."

"Ah. So does that mean you eat cold food often?" Kero asked, snickering.

"Don't laugh, teddy bear, because YOU ate majority of dessert last night." Duo gave him a pointed glare before inserting bread in the toaster. "You're also the one who kept me up half the night for your card information."

"That stuff was important to know," Kero said in defense. "And it's useful for card capturing."

Right after the capture of Fly and Jump Duo had a thrilling ride on the staff as well as a fantastic hour of jumping about. He was actually able to exhibit better moves than Trowa. Jump had given him an advantage of grace, even if he did manage to fall several times while leaping around.

"Stop threatening me with the card capturing thing, okay? My life as a Gundam pilot is hard enough as it is; this has only added complications to the matter." Duo turned to him and scowled. "You have no idea how hard it is to fit Heero's definition of 'normal'. Now throw in a paranormal setting and what do you get? A damn freak."

Kero's eyes narrowed. "You are not a freak, Duo. Sorcerers do not address themselves as so."

"Others do." Duo eyed the small beast. "I'm not going to tell Heero about you, because he's going to think I'm strange. Not to mention he'll take out his gun and start firing. He doesn't keep anything that would endanger his mission, ya get what I mean?"

Quietly the creature sat, flicking his tail like a pendulum. "Your life is hard, isn't it?" he asked softly. "You haven't told me of what is going on in this time period."

"A war is what's going on," retorted Duo. "A fucking war that made me an orphan and a street rat with all the people who loved me dead."

Wincing at the use of the crude words, Kero observed the teenager for once without his critical eye. For a fifteen year old, Duo was scrawny and short, also skinny. But there was also something intriguing about him, except for the unnatural cheerfulness that he carried about him. Despite the horrors that he had just stated to the guardian beast, Duo seemed to be in fine condition for one so young to have experienced so much. And the inextinguishable light in those violet eyes.....They were so much like Sakura's spirit. Maybe the young man had a chance with the cards after all. That kind of light existed only in those who were truly considered the strongest.

"I'm sorry," he replied, keeping his voice at a low level. With that one sentence Kero was able to learn more about the American than the entire night that they had spent together.

Shaking himself, Duo heard the ping of the toaster and frowned. He pulled out the two slices and replaced them, but this time dragging the toaster oven to the counter as well. So six slices of bread were being cooked at the same time, while Duo did his best with the butter and jam. Thank God the knife was dull, or otherwise the pilot would have ended up chopping his hand to bits and pieces. Kero laughed as he watched Duo handle the blade.

"Sakura was a good cook, you know. I've never seen anyone twiddle with a blade like that." He smirked. "You're clumsy."

"Hey," Duo waved the knife threateningly, "I am NOT clumsy with knives. I just don't use them for spreading butter on toast."

"Then what do you use them for?"

"This." The next thing Kero knew, the bowl in the center of the table behind him wobbled slightly. He slowly turned his head around and stared. The same knife that Duo was holding a moment ago was embedded to the hilt in the top apple of the fruit bowl. The beady eyes widened.

"T-T-T-T-h-h-h-" Duo silenced the stutters with one hand and grinned, leaning over the counter. "I'm not so weak after all. I wouldn't have become a Gundam pilot if I were."

"Ah," Kero replied lamely. His eyes were about to pop out of his head. Then he recalled Duo's earlier words and frowned.

"What do you mean when you say your fellow pilot is going to take out his gun and fire at me? You carry guns?"

Duo rolled his eyes. "Tell me something I don't know. I'll give you another hint of who Heero is like: he carries his own self- detonation device."

Kero's jaw fell as he pondered the new information he had just been fed. "He sounds worse than Yue," he muttered. "Might be helpful in capturing cards." The last part was louder.

"Uhmn." Duo shook his head. "Heero doesn't do anything beyond mission parameters. And his favorite saying is, 'omae o korosu'." Nonchalantly the teen shrugged as the toaster rang again, this time accompanied by the small ring of the oven.

"Omae.....o......korosu?" Kero repeated as if the phrase was foreign. "I.....will....kill....you?"

"Yep. Cheerful kind of guy, don't you think?" asked Duo as he set down a dish loaded with slices in front of Kero and one of his own. They each had four slices packed together. "I mean, Heero is suicidal. He loves to kill himself and he has this psychotic side that makes him point a gun at you whenever he is pissed. That's why it's better if he doesn't know. I can't tell Quatre; he'll tell Heero if the guy forces him to. Besides, Q-man never likes keeping secrets. It's always making him feel uneasy. Trowa.....he doesn't talk, except maybe to Quatre, and so on from there. Wufei....I trust him, but he doesn't believe in this kind of stuff. He'll throw a tantrum, and then obviously he'd avoid me. I don't want that to happen. They are my only friends, ya know."

"Wow," mumbled Kero as he swallowed. "You have strange friends. And you talk too much."

"What?" Duo propped his fists on his hips in indignation. "Me? Look who's talking. You shouldn't be calling my friends strange, especially since you are a teddy bear that talks. And eats a lot too." He smirked. "How often do you see something like that? Certainly not everyday." Then the pilot smiled. "At least I have someone else to talk to and bother."

The rather large ears of the bear flicked up. "All this is just leading to the fact that you don't want Heero to find out about your supernatural powers. Are you afraid he'll kill you? Or is it something else?"

Duo turned red. "Don't get nosy."

"Duo?"

"Blah!" Duo promptly seized Kero and dunked him into the bowl of fruit. Kero yelped and frantically pushed against Duo's palm, causing him to be buried even further. About two seconds later Quatre walked into the kitchen.

"You're eating now?" Quatre stared at the two dishes. Crumbs were widespread on the surface of the table.

Upon hearing a new voice Kero stilled. He listened intently and managed to get a look at the person speaking to the Card Captor. He had one of those innocent angel looks; but usually those ended up being the most evil.

"With two dishes?" questioned Quatre, raising an eyebrow.

Duo laughed weakly. "Uh.....If I piled all the slices of toast on one dish, they would topple, wouldn't they?"

"I suppose," Quatre said slowly. "At least you ate only eight slices.....last time you finished the whole loaf of bread altogether."

_Eight? I had only four!_

An orange chose this moment to slide and fall onto Kero's tiny leg. The guardian beast yelled and thrashed, knocking over some more fruit. Duo paled.

"Kero!"

"What?"

"Uh, nothing," the American quickly pulled his hand away from the fruit bowl. "An orange just fell on my fingers, that all."

"No, you said something. Like—"

"Heero! How is the Perfect Soldier doing?" Duo threw an arm around the blonde's shoulders and steered him out of the kitchen, leaving Kero to deal with the fruit bowl mess. The guardian beast popped out, growling. _Baka_, he cursed mentally.

"Oh, don't go bother him. His arm is in a sling, and Heero's very unhappy because he can only type with one hand right now."

_Let's hope Quatre won't put that incident in his mind_, Duo thought. "How about the others? Are you okay?"

"The worst I've got is a huge bruise on my side. Trowa is well.........but something is wrong with Wufei."

"Huh? What could be wrong with him? He's usually the last one of us all to get hurt, with all his meditation and stuff. Hell, I don't think he can even get a paper cut."

"Duo, he can't seem to talk. Wufei didn't even hit his head. Nothing he is trying to say comes out. Not even a groan or a sigh. It's really strange. I mean, he was fine right after the mission. And then when he woke up, he couldn't make a sound."

_Did Kero mention a card that could stop a person from talking? No......_

"Duo? Duo!"

"Huh? What?" The Deathscythe pilot blinked in surprise. Quatre frowned.

"You zoned out," he accused.

"Oh. Sorry," Duo smiled and reached up behind the back of his neck for his braid. "I'm sure it's only a temporary thing. Maybe it's just one of those crazy herbal teas that he drank. Wufei will be fine and yelling at me again."

"I hope you're right," murmured the blond. "He's locked himself in his room right now."

"Oh, Quatre, I forgot. I have to go back to the kitchen and clean my mess up. Seeya!" he bubbled, zipping quickly out of Quatre's sight. The blue-green eyes looked after Duo, watching the pilot carefully. His Spaceheart had not picked up anything strange. So why was Duo suddenly so out of character? He actually volunteered to clean up his mess in the kitchen. Odd.....

~*~*~*~

"Kero!" Skidding to a stop in the kitchen, Duo barely caught his breath before he began his litany.

"Quatre said something about Wufei not being able to talk and I was just thinking about the cards and then he told me that Wufei had stopped talking this morning so obviously something happened between last night and this morning so I was wondering if it had anything to do with the cards, you know, because I released them last night and one probably affected Wufei and I came back here to ask if you know any card that makes a person silent."

Kero stared. He had never heard anyone who could talk like that and still be breathing. He couldn't even say that much in one, run-on sentence. Duo wasn't even breathing heavily, as if he had a tank of oxygen stored right in his lungs. Blinking once, the guardian beast snapped back to reality.

"You said your friend Wufei isn't talking? Wufei.....is he Chinese?"

"Yeah, now get back to the point!" Duo was ready to bounce around the walls. He was overdosed with sugar, and now, hoping on his heels, the American settled to use his extra energy for cleaning up. Bounding about quickly, Duo kept himself occupied as Kero spoke.

"Right......The Silent card!"

At the rate he was working, Duo was finished. He drummed his fingers on the table and tapped his foot, and the only thing that popped up in his head happened to be the one thing that he could think of.

"Why don't we leave it? Wufei might be a lot better if he is silent." Duo winked. Unable to stand still, he shifted the weight in his legs.

"You are not going to be an evil Card Captor." Kero frowned. "Why can't you stand still?"

"I drank the coffee, remember? Too much sugar."

"I told you not to add that much."

"It happens everyday."

"What?" Kero was dumbfounded.

"Well, not every day, but often, because I like coffee, I'm American, and I don't drink tea! And it tastes bitter if I don't add enough sugar, so I add a lot, and well, that's how I end up hyperactive. I'm not going to be able to stay still for a while," he added, glancing out the window. The notes in his voice and melded words showed the still significant high sugar in his blood.

Kero sniffed. "You're going to have to stay still for capturing cards," he stated in a patronizing tone. Duo shot him a withering look. He returned it with a scowl.

"You're a mix between Heero and Wufei," Duo grumbled.

"What?" From what he heard from Duo about those two comrades in particular, Kero didn't even like the thought of being compared to Heero and Wufei. Suddenly his stomach growled again. A huge sweatdrop rolled down the bulbous yellow head. "I think I'm still hungry."

Duo looked at the tiny beast and slowly, his mouth curved into a mischievous grin. "No food until a card is captured," he drawled,.

Kero gaped in obvious indignation. "I am the Guardian Beast of the Sakura Book!" he bellowed, flapping his wings in a fury. "I'm a growing beast! I need the food!"

Immediately Duo grabbed him and attempted to stifle the beast's howls. "Don't yell!" he hissed. "They'll hear you!"

"Duo? Is there something wrong?" Quatre's voice floated through the corridor to the kitchen. "I thought I heard yelling."

"Uh, Quatre, just little ol' me! I kinda dropped the toaster on my foot! Nothing to worry about!" he yelled back. He glared down at the bear he held in his hands. "Either you stay quiet or I won't capture cards. You'll get pudding _after_ we help Wufei with his problem." Releasing the magical creature, Duo ran a hand through his bangs. "Sheesh, and I thought Wufei couldn't take a joke."

Blinking, Kero fixed his eyes on the short pilot. "That....was a joke?"

The American grinned in response. "Come on, Kero. I don't want to spend my whole life dedicated to work, ya know. I have the chance to be a teenager, and joking is a part of that. I want to live my life before I have to go and risk it again on a mission or in a battle. I don't know when this war will end. That's why I plan to spend whatever time I have to enjoy the beauties and fun. Sometimes you have to learn that if you don't treasure what you have today, you might not have it tomorrow. And I aim to remember that and live life to its fullest before the Grim Reaper comes." Duo shrugged and grabbed Kero's small form again. "Come on, let's go!"

_Impossible,_ Kero thought as he furiously struggled to escaped Duo's gentle but firm grasp. _A fifteen year old, nevertheless. How can understand the philosophies that others had strived to understand for a lifetime? He definitely has a chance with the cards all right. And his mood can changed so fast....Duo can be a joker, but he can also be serious as well as unnervingly smart. I wonder what his past is like......He's different from Sakura, even though their spirits are similar. Something sets him apart. After knowing a person for a day I would have thought I'd know them better, but I only find him ever more a mystery......_

"Okay, now if I can just remember which of these hundred rooms Wufei was in, then maybe I'll get somewhere, won't I? Except for that fact I can remember a lot of things about OZ yet I never can figure out where each person is rooming in Quatre's mansions....." Duo sighed in exasperation, staring down what seemingly was an endless hallway. Kero finally wiggled out of Duo's hand and looked around to make sure there were no extra eyes peeking.

"I say we just try every single door until we find him," Kero muttered, casting a weary look at all the doors. "Your friend is richer than Tomoyo."

"Tomoyo?" questioned Duo.

"Yeah. She was a friend of Sakura's-she knew about the Clow Cards."

"Really.....Why didn't you tell me I could tell someone about it?" demanded the indignant pilot.

"Because," Kero said in his irritated tone, "you planned out that you weren't going to tell someone, remember?" His eyes flicked, noting that a person was approaching. Quickly he did his best to bury his tiny body in Duo's thick chestnut braid.

The American looked over his shoulder. "Ke-Heero!" He whirled around; his braid, being weighed down by the apparent magical creature in its depths, hung straight down his back. Kero clung on the best he could, scrambling to tighten his hold.

Heero frowned. Did Duo just pronounce his name wrong? Ke-Heero??? He glared at the violet-eyed teen. All signs of when Duo was nervous were there. He was squirming in his boots.....the only thing he didn't do was fiddle with the end of his braid. That was the oddest part. He couldn't remember a time when Duo was jumpy that he wouldn't start toying with his hair.

"You're up to something," Heero stated flatly. Duo stared at him with an innocent expression.

"No.....I was, uh, just looking for Wufei.....to see if.....he wanted to talk," the American finished weakly. _You are so lame, Maxwell. Wufei wouldn't talk to me even if he could. But that wasn't exactly a lie, so it was okay._

The Japanese pilot's eyes narrowed. Duo looked like he was ready to quail under the intense Death glare, unlike his normal cheerful self. He was definitely nervous about something...._Is he hiding a secret? Could be dangerous towards the mission_.

"You're a terrible liar," replied Heero in his monotone.

In the Heero dictionary, this obviously meant, "I know you're up to something and I'll find out or I'll kill you."

"I am not lying. Look, Heero, go to your laptop or something, I'm bit on the hyper side." Duo shuffled his feet. "I just need to chat with Wufei about something, that's all."

The words struck an odd note and caused a constricting feeling in Heero's chest. _He's actually asking me to go to my laptop? _He glared at the L2 pilot and then turned around and stalked back the way he came, his arm in tow. Duo sighed.

"Now what did I do?" he moaned. "It's like everything I do is wrong in one way or another and Heero's mad at me half the time, Wufei the other half, and God knows how much I'm trying to act 'normal', and-"

"Okay, okay, I get your point," snapped Kero, yanking on the long braid. Duo yelped, pulling his braid over his shoulder so fast that Kero was ungraciously hurled into the wall.

"Itai," he said mournfully, glaring the magical being. "It hurts when you pull on it, ya know?"

"You didn't have to fling me into a wall!" Kero shot back.

Duo fumed. "I didn't do that on purpose!"

The soft steps of another approaching person was not heard, but Kero felt the vibrations. And it was a good thing he did, because he dropped into doll mode the moment Trowa turned into their hallway. Duo spun around, braid clasped tightly in his right hand.

"Uh, Trowa! Man, what are you doing here?"

The lone green eye traveled from one Deathscythe pilot to one very strange winged teddy bear. Trowa raised one visible eyebrow. Duo followed his gaze to the teddy bear slumped over on the ground and promptly caught on.

"Oh, him? He's one of the things I, um, found in one of the rooms!" _That wasn't a lie,_ Duo chided himself. _I did find Kero in one of the rooms last night._

Trowa gave Duo a queer look. To prove his point the American pilot reached down and picked up Kero's limp form and shook it. He grinned, throwing his braid behind him again. "Uh, would you happen to know where Wufei's room is? I'm.....lost." He rolled his eyes.

"Three doors down," Trowa said quietly, and then turned down another hall and was soon gone. Duo blew at his bangs.

"How often does he talk?" asked Kero, floating up to sit on Duo's shoulder.

"The guy doesn't need a Silent card to remain silent." Duo sighed. "He never says more than seven words each time he speaks. That means he always uses vocabulary that I don't understand." The American frowned. "Thank Pestilence that we're not often put together on missions. He'll kill me with his ability _not_ to talk."

"How come I get the feeling you kill him with your endless talking......"

"Say that again?" Duo shook his head and knocked on the third door. No response. So he did what he could think of: he picked the lock.

"Hey Wu-"

Before he could finish, however, the L2 pilot was thrown backwards and the door had slammed shut. But not before he caught a glimpse of who was apparently Wufei. Or, more accurately, what was Wufei.

The Chinese pilot was standing directly in the view of the door. A blue aura surrounded him, hair loose from the normally tight ponytail. The worst was that Duo saw the entirely blue eyes that stared through him. Wufei's black hair was also turning blue. And it certainly wasn't happening because he decided to dye it.

"Okay, Kero, please don't tell me I see what I just saw?"

Kero blinked and came back to life. "Your friend's possessed by a card," he answered quietly. But, unlike he had predicted, Duo was calm. He had expected an outbreak of frustrated words. Sakura had panicked when she found out the Sword card had taken over Rika-yet this American boy, the one that got angry when his braid was yanked, was acting calmer than his normal ecstatic state. Duo obviously noticed Kero's expression of blankness.

"We're trained to deal with problems under physical and mental duress," he explained. "So, naturally, I would be thinking of how to help Wufei out of this mess instead of ranting about the obvious. It won't help to blow up. I didn't know that until yesterday, seeing as how I had to face the Fly and Jump cards alone, without any help. I'm starting to think I was very stupid. But then again, who isn't?" He snorted. "Considering the fact that I live with a suicidal maniac who is constantly out to find new ways to kill himself."

"You babble twice more than what is necessary," commented Kero. The violet eyes flickered to him in annoyance. "So your friend has been possessed by the Silent card. The tricky part is getting close enough to it to shout the incantation and seal it."

"How hard can that be?" Duo laughed, and walked up to the door, opening it again. "I mean, it's not like it'll run away or anything."

Whoosh.

The next thing the two of them knew, they were standing way down the hall away from Wufei's door.

"It won't run away," said Kero sullenly. "It'll run _us_ away."

Duo blinked. "What did the card just do? I remember something like a second of dizziness, and then we were here."

"The Silent Card can remove the source of noise."

"Oh." Duo looked glum. "That is a definite problem. I can't keep quiet. My best record is five minutes. Silence kills me."

"Well, you're going to have to keep quiet or you can't catch the card." Kero gestured. "Now take out your key and change it into the staff."

The American threw up his hands in exasperation. "How many times do I have to tell you??? I don't know how!"

"Use your brains, Duo. Remember what happened when you captured the Fly and Jump cards last night? You knew how to capture them; it's just an unconscious feeling that you don't know until you've tried it. If I could, I would tell you Sakura's incantation, but magic works differently on different levels. It might change with you. Like the Fly card. Sakura got wings when she used it. Now that you're here, you use the staff."

"Yeah," Duo answered, annoyed. "It was pink. I swore I wouldn't ever touch anything pink in my whole life, and here I am, a huge stack of pink cards with a pink staff and a pink book. Anything else I should know?"

"Why don't you just give it a try?" Kero hovered a good distance away from Duo's face, stubby arms folded. "You need to have a little faith in yourself, Duo."

"All right." The pilot sighed and pulled the pendant over his head. He stared stupidly at the item in his hand. Duo closed his eyes.

_What am I supposed to do? It's not like I'm supposed to know.......Chill, Duo, you need to have a little faith in yourself. Where did the fierce determination of Shinigami go? Trust in your abilities._

Opening the violet orbs, Duo unconsciously held the key out in front of him, palm face up. The magical circle that represented Sakura's star materialized under his heels, and a breeze lifted up around the circle.

_"Key of the Star,  
__Unleash the powers of light  
Set free the staff  
And let it burn bright  
Release!"_

Kero watched as the key elongated into the staff. Duo's fingers closed around it when it fell into his hand. Everything around them was restored to normal, with no hint of magic having taken place.

"Why don't you twirl it?"

"Hey, Kero, just because I'm a Card Captor doesn't mean I'm a cheerleader. I'm a boy. And boys do not like pink things. Period."

The guardian beast sighed. "Well, Tomoyo used to videotape Sakura's card captures. She carried her camera everywhere, and she made costumes for Sakura to wear. Some of them were cool."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" demanded Duo as he started down the hall again.

"You're dressed like a priest," Kero stated.

"There's nothing wrong with that."

"Oh yes there is. You can't go out capturing cards in a priest outfit."

"I went out in my pajamas last night, Kero, what are you expecting?" Duo approached the said door carefully. Right hand gripping the staff tightly, he twisted his knob so slowly and pushed.

But the moment he stepped in his boots clunked loudly.

Boom.

They were in the hall again.

"This is going to be a_ long_ day," grumbled Duo.

"I never said this was going to be easy." Kero watched as the American teen yanked off his boots, carried them to the nearest window, and threw them out. He sweatdropped. "Aren't you going to have to wear those?"

"I'll get them later." Duo marched up to Wufei's door again.

This time the door squeaked.

Viola-they were now officially sent all the way to the stairs.

The next time Duo slid on his socks and landed with a loud thump. They reappeared at the bottom of the stairwell.

"Argh! That card is a real bitch!" Duo took several deep breaths in front of the door. "It better be right this time, or I swear I'll kill somebody." And the pilot pushed the door in.

No squeaks. Creeping carefully, he inched forward, Kero hovering beside his head. Duo succeeded in getting near enough without making the slightest noise. 

Finally.

"Sakura Card, I command you to return to your card confined! Silent Card!"

He brought the staff down on Wufei's head, a glowing rectangle materializing underneath. All of Wufei's blue glow was sucked into the card, which floated down into Duo's hand. A woman holding a fan covering her mouth appeared on it. Duo smiled. He cheered.

"Thank God that was over! I don't think I would have been able to keep silent any longer!" Duo punched his fist in the air.

"You know, Duo, you did end up clobbering your friend on the head. He's going to have a huge bump when he wakes up."

"Oh."

TBC.....


	3. Relena meets Kero

I guess first of all, I should thank the people who reviewed my story. I know that the idea of Duo with a PINK staff is a bit terrifying, especially since I am not a favorite of pink myself. But I'm working on it, don't worry. If you think I'm taking a long time to write up the chapters, then I'll do my best. I've got school and one lousy science teacher, so I need to review my science on my own. Anyways, to answer Nightwings's question, if the story works out well enough and I have time, I'll continue the fanfic after Duo captures the cards to transforming the cards.

Everyone knows the disclaimer. Everyone knows who the G-boys really belong to. And I'm not earning money for this.

For first, take a good, long look at the chapter title. It is one of the worst nightmares ever to happen to Keroberos, eh? We all know that his human form resembles a cute yellow teddy bear with wings......and that's obviously what Relena thinks he is.

Oh yeah, to keep off with the confusion, at the bottom of this chapter I'll have a list of the cards. It'll be specified which ones were captured and which are still running around creating headaches for Duo. In the chapters after this one I'll add in a note at the bottom to tell the number of cards still needed to be captured, and the cards captured in that chapter. I think that works well.

Blah. After sitting around for three weeks typing this thing I finally decided on 1+2/2+1. Whether or not it'll advance from there.....I dunno. I also have to warn you about quick changes in the moods. I can be serious one moment, and crazy the next. I doubt my own sanity. This chapter houses only one card capture at the very end, not too exciting, but an interesting day with a visit from Relena........

Chapter III - _Relena meets Kero_

They were both sitting at the table, silence reigning between them. Heero finished his nutritional lunch, and Trowa sat there, after having finished his lunch first. Both sat back and stared at their empty dishes. Obviously, both had long since learned the process of communicating through facial expressions, so neither had much to say. Everything was on their minds.

_Duo is up to something._

Before either of them could voice their concerns, however, one scream of pure fury ripped through the whole mansion. The two pilots looked up; Quatre, who had just entered the kitchen, stopped dead in his tracks.

"MAXWELL!!!!!!!!"

Wufei came charging into the room, sword in hand, looking positively murderous. His black hair wasn't black anymore-it was a fluffy white. Whipped cream white. The person who coated it designed it to look like Washington's wig, complete with the curls above the ears. Wufei's furious expression added to the amusement, and Quatre hid his grin while Trowa smiled crookedly. Heero smirked.

"I am going to kill that bakayaro!" fumed the Chinese pilot. Quatre blinked.

"You're talking!" He smiled joyously. "I guess Duo's practical jokes aren't so bad after all."

"In his next life," snarled Wufei. "This is whipped cream we're talking about. It's going to take a lot to wash out. When I find him I swear I will chop off that ridiculous braid of his! Kisama! This is injustice!"

"Calm down," said Trowa quietly.

"Calm down???" Wufei literally shrieked. "I have FOOD on top of my head!"

Of course, this was the best time for Duo to walk in. He smiled cordially and continued on his way to the sink, where he dumped the mug that he held in his hand. Everyone stared at him.

"What?"

Duo politely ignored the look of anger from Wufei. "I didn't do anything wrong. You got your voice back. You can least thank me for that," the American said pointedly. Then he scowled, stalked to the fridge, pulled out two cups of vanilla pudding, grabbed two spoons, and was out in the blink of an eye.

The other four pilots looked at one another. The normally cheerful American seemed to be in a rush, and also acting totally unlike the fool he usually was. There was a difference about Duo.

_Something happened last night,_ Quatre thought. _ He was like his normal self on the phone.......It doesn't look like OZ invaded the house last night. My uchuu no kokoro doesn't sense anything out of place......Two spoons?_

~*~*~*~

"Kero, you owe me big time. I have never ate this less in one day before."

"Ha. You're not gaining any fat, are you?"

"You wish. I can eat gallons and still stay skinny." Duo handed Kero a spoon, and he himself started on his own pudding. "I'm not a clueless baka. My metabolism provides enough energy for me to blow up OZ anytime. And not get fat."

"You wouldn't be fighting a war," answered Kero mildly.

The Deathscythe pilot glared in response. "Shut up." Sighing, he fiddled with his spoon, scooping out a portion of pudding and jamming the food in his mouth. Then he slowly wrenched the spoon out again, flicking it absently as he stared at the wall opposite. Duo was lying on his stomach, legs bent at the knees with his feet in the air. "I don't get it. There's a Sword card, but there isn't a Scythe card? Scythes are ultimately cool. Especially if they're a weapon combined with magic."

"Because Clow Reed wasn't thinking about death," retorted Kero acidly.

"Yeah. I guess there is still a lot of stuff I have to learn about this 'magic' and the cards, eh Kero?" Duo waved his legs a bit. "It's like this stuff is foreign to me, but I still don't have the slightest clue as to how some of this stuff works. I mean, look at Quatre. He has his uchuu no kokoro, and he isn't magical."

Kero eyed his warily. "And how do you know?"

"It's like an unconscious feeling."

"You see? You don't need instruction. Well, except for the times when magic gets out of control, but everything is known. Back here. In the subconscious. You'll discover your abilities as you go along—it helps if you remember. Once you learn how to harness the magic, you just guide it to your wishes. Sorcerers who are stupid try to control their magic fully, and they get killed."

"Ouch." Duo winced. "I'll keep that in mind. Capturing cards is not going to be easy—especially after the episode with Silent today." He spooned some more pudding in his mouth and swallowed. "I have a feeling that the others think something is up. This business is really giving me a headache."

"How hard can it be to hide something like this?" asked Kero noncommittally.

"You don't know Heero and Trowa very well," mumbled Duo. "They are on high-alert. Anything that is the slightest bit out of order does not pass their attention. And that includes me. Heero has to make sure all pilots are able to function to the point where they can take missions. Otherwise, we're considered liabilities. If we are injured to the point where it would need sufficient time to heal, he takes out his gun and—BANG—we're goners." He said all of this mechanically, as if it was a normal procedure.

Without bothering to hide his shock, Kero blurted, "You all kill each other??? And you're living with them???"

Duo sighed. "I can't blame you for not knowing, Kero. We're in a war. You can't possibly begin to understand what it's like until you've lived it. And I'm a killer, Kero. That was why I didn't want to become a Card Captor in the first place. I can easily kill with the cards now that I've seen their power." He smiled sadly. "But I won't, because I know it's against all of Wufei's justice and honor and I don't need him yelling at me."

The door opened without notice and Heero entered. Duo glanced towards the door with some surprise, one because Heero didn't knock, and two because he wasn't wearing his sling. Kero fell dead, pudding forgotten. The Japanese pilot stared at it with some suspicion.

"Do you know what is called privacy?" demanded the American.

"Who were you talking to?" asked Heero, ignoring the aforementioned question.

"What business of it is yours?" snapped Duo.

"Stop acting so childish. Grow up. You're a fifteen year old soldier, not a kid who has to play with teddy bears."

Duo reddened.

"For your information, Heero Yuy, I know exactly what I am. And I want you to get out of my room right now, or I swear I'll throw you out. What I do is none of your concern. If you even care for anything but the mission." Duo's happy tone had dropped to a cold, menacing growl. He nearly shoved Heero out the doorway. "I'm a teenager, Heero, and I'm still a kid, even if I am a soldier. But I want to spend some quality time doing things that normal teens do. And that does not include typing up mission reports. I don't give two shits about you or your life, Heero, but I want to make something of mine. Thank you very much."

And he shut the door in the Perfect Soldier's face. More correctly, slammed it.

Duo walked back to his bed and collapsed on it, burying his face into the sheets.

"What the hell did I just do?" he moaned into the bed. "Now he's going to be so mad at me he won't even give a monosyllable response when I talk to him and he's probably going to punch me too."

Kero shrugged. "You were the one that lost your temper." He ate the remaining spoonful of his pudding. "Life is tough, kid. I can understand why you would lose your temper with that idiot." Pausing, the guardian beast looked thoughtful. "He looks dreadfully like someone I knew once......Li Xiao Lang, or Syaoran, as Sakura called him. He was another one of those pompous, arrogant idiots. He marched around with that sword of his, constantly leering at Sakura. I don't get why she put up with him, you know, until the end. Sakura loved the baka. Heero and Syaoran would get along well. Both of them seems to have messy brown hair, and they glare like crazy, except your friend is a dozen times more intense." He frowned. "Where do you dump your garbage?"

"There's no way I'm going out and risking bumping into Heero after that incident. Dump it out the window."

"What? Have you picked up your boots yet?"

"No."

~*~*~*~

Heero ate his breakfast with precision. His arm always moved the exact same angle and distance, back and forth from the plate. When he finished he placed the dish into the sink, and proceeded to the hallway leading out the front. He needed to check up on his Gundam. Pausing, he stared up one of the several staircases up in Quatre's mansion.

_What is wrong with him? _he wondered briefly about the baka. _It's like he lost control of his emotions.....That is not good for a soldier._

Then, his thoughts took a sudden turnaround.

_What is wrong with me?_

His eyes narrowed. Quickly Heero swept that thought away and continued down the hallway, stopping to take his laptop from the sideboard where he left it before he went to eat. Then he noticed the teddy bear and the book.

It was odd. He knew it was a silly notion. Teddy bears were not odd. They were sold everywhere. They were toys. Yet something about this one make Heero's spine crawl. Like something different.....something powerful. It was an innate feeling....but Heero shrugged it off. He did not believe in paranormal things, and must keep his mind on more important things than Duo's teddy bear. Yet it struck him as strange that it was there, lying on the sideboard with a decorative pink book next to it. It seemed out of place, since he didn't see it before when he came down. Maybe Duo put it there......

He checked the clock sitting in the center of the sideboard. It was too early. The baka didn't wake up that early just to move a teddy bear from one place to another. Heero glared at the teddy bear. It had unusual wings. The ears put together seemed to be bigger than the bulbous head itself, and altogether the stuffed animal was strange. (Ha! Heero thinks like Syaoran too.....stuffed animal! If only Kero could read minds......)

Reaching over, Heero picked the toy up and glared at it, scrutinizing the features. Sighing inwardly, he put it down. He did not know what Duo saw in toys....maybe it was because the American still had some childish spirit.....But he did not. Heero frowned and pulled out a pad from spandex space, complete with a standard blue pen. He quickly but neatly scribbled a note and left the pad beside the pink book, knowing that Duo would read it. He had wrote more on the note than he intended to.

_A pink book? What was the baka thinking of, Relena?_

~*~*~*~

The world's most horrible nightmare of a car drove up to the estate. THE pink limo. The one containing the feared person we all know as.......

Relena Darlian Peacecraft.

She stepped out and stood up, her long skirt flowing around her ankles. It was just a paler shade of pink, of course. She was wearing maroon blazer, with a white blouse underneath. The ruffles fell in feminine folds around her neck, and gave her the look of an innocent girl.

Which, of course, she probably was not.

With the courtesy of a polite and refined girl, she walked up to the door and rang the bell. And waited.

A few minutes later a slightly ruffled Quatre opened the door. His eyes registered Relena in shock. She smiled sweetly.

"Hello, Quatre," she said in a warming tone. "Is Heero there?"

The blond blinked. "I'm not sure, actually. I saw him in the kitchen about fifteen minutes ago. Relena-san, what are you going here? It is not safe for you to come back each time-"

He was rudely bumped to the side as Relena brushed past him, intent on finding her target. She suddenly stopped by a certain sideboard......Noticing the pad and pen, along with the pretty pink book and the teddy bear that seemed to be sticking out from underneath the open cover. She frowned and picked up the pad out of curiosity.

_I know you are going to read this even if you are still angry. I do not get why you like teddy bears—but whatever was wrong I apologize. I understand that you do not like interferences in your privacy._

_Heero_

(Yeah, I know, this is odd for the Perfect Soldier, but you can't expect normalcy. I worded it the best I could avoiding names. There is a purpose for that.)

Naturally, Relena assumed Heero was writing to her. She looked mortified.

"I didn't know that he was so sensitive! And how CUTE of him to leave me this bear and this nice pink book!" She set down the pad and squealed in delight as she picked up the bear. Relena smiled wider and tugged on one of the ears.

_Ouch!_ Kero was tempted to bite the horrible girl and hear her scream in pain, even if her voice did sound high-pitched. The tugging on his ear hurt. If only he was in his other form he'll kill her and bite her head off......But the girl was too jolly to notice that the face of her teddy bear had changed. It now resembled a murderous scowl that Heero would have.

_Omae o korosu,_ he chanted in his head as the girl closed the Sakura book and tucked it under her other arm. Then he panicked. _Duo—the book—me—this is going to be a problem......How the hell am I supposed to get out of this one? _He sighed. _She isn't going to dress me up as a doll.....I hope. _

_This is not my day._

~*~*~*~

It was 11:53.

He rolled over and promptly hit the floor. Duo peeled open his eyes and blinked several times before his vision focused. A few stray beams of sunlight seeped through the window; he had closed the drapes purposely because of that. His side ached from the unexpected hit on the floor, especially since the bed was double sized and had plenty of room.

But the first thing he noticed was Kero's disappearance.

With the book.

And the cards.

Duo's eyes narrowed. Blowing upward at his bangs, he raked a hand through his tiresome hair. It had fallen loose of its braid during his sleep. Kero must have went out, he decided. After all, his room was a pigsty of a place to be in.

Paddling to the bathroom, Duo did his routine of freshening up. However, when he stepped out and dressed, there was still no sign of Kero. The teen picked up the pink pendant, shuddered in distaste, and slipped it over his head to join his cross underneath the white tank top he was wearing. Sighing, he pulled on a casual black shirt and left the buttons, pulling on a pair of black jeans.

"Kero is going to be in _big_ trouble if I find him and he's blurted out the secret," Duo muttered. He scowled and bounded down the stairs, skipping steps as he went. He skidded down the last steps and ran down the corridor, stopping by the sideboard. (This again.......) Skimming the note, Duo frowned. So Heero had seen Kero._ Now_ where was the little guardian beast?

"Good morning, Duo." Quatre looked over his shoulder. "Oh. So Heero's gone to check on his Gundam. Too bad for Relena then."

"Relena?" The American froze. "She's.....here?" he squeaked. _If she saw Kero.......he is soooo dead. And it's not Heero. It's Relena......_

"She came in a few minutes ago and passed by here to get to the kitchen when I told her Heero was eating. But I guess she wouldn't find him." Quatre smiled. "You want breakfast, Duo? Although, it is rather a bit late......"

"Nah, Quatre," Duo replied hastily. "I, uh, don't feel hungry. Just remembered something I have to do. Seeya!" He opted for another hallway and dove down it. Quatre looked confused for a moment.

"Duo's not hungry???"

~*~*~*~

"Heeeeeeerrrroooooo!!!!!!"

Relena flounced into the kitchen, and took note that no one was there. She frowned. Now where would her prince be?

"Relena, you won't be finding Heero here." Quatre nearly toppled over as Relena whirled around and leaned so close that their noses were touching.

"You know where he is?" she questioned. Kero was suffocating in her arm, being squeezed to the brink of death. The Sakura book was being held just as tightly in her other arm.

Quatre paled. Would he rather be bugged to death by Relena, or slowly tortured to death by Heero?

Heero.

"He's with his Gundam, Relena, you won't be able to find him." Quatre held his breath as the blue-green eyes stared at him for some moments more.

Both apparently didn't notice the squirming so-called "teddy bear". Lucky they didn't.

"Fine then," said Relena airily. "I'll stay here until he gets back." She smiled at her new toy. Kero felt like wilting.

_I swear to my name as a Guardian Beast of the Seal I will kill her!!!!!!!_

Relena planted herself on a chair. "I'm pretty sure you won't mind, Quatre." And she crooned in happiness as she yanked on the doll's ear.

_Is it just me, or is that bear wearing a look of discomfort? _Quatre sweatdropped. This was going to be a long day.

~*~*~*~

"Kero! Kero? Kero, are you there? Eep!"

Duo jumped up in shock and terror as he realized he was staring in level with Wufei's stomach. He popped up immediately and made a weak smile. "Hi!" he chirped. "Whatcha doing here?"

"I should be asking you that, Maxwell." Wufei frowned. "Who is Kero?"

"Kero? Oh, he's just my.....uh......."

"Your what?" Wufei snapped.

_Boy, if I tell Wufei that Kero is my teddy bear, he's going to give me one of those long lectures on being mature and acting my age. But then again......_ Duo sighed. "He's my stuffed animal."

A black eyebrow shot up. Duo rolled his eyes. When Wufei opened his mouth, however, he butt in before the Chinese pilot could say anything.

"Look up."

"What?" Wufei peered up at the ceiling.

"Look down," instructed Duo. "Look at my thumb. Gee, you're dumb." He laughed and whirled around, sprinting down another hall.

"MAXWELL!!!"

Duo heard the roar and hurried his pace, twisting through another set of corridors before finally stopping to catch his breath. Then he looked up.

He hadn't found any sign of Kero.

In fact, the American got the bad feeling.........

.......That he was lost.

~*~*~*~

"I think I shall name her Hee Hee, don't you think? That is such a kawaii name!" Relena held Kero outstretched in front of her.

_I'm a male being mistaken for female. I have a ridiculous name: Hee Hee. And the girl who gave me that name is going to die!_ Kero fumed in his head. It was almost time for lunch. Hopefully Duo would manage to get here and save him before that girl decides to apply makeup. On him.

Relena smiled and kissed him for the umpteenth time. He grimaced.

_This cannot get worse,_ he reasoned. _It can't get any worse than this, right?_

Wrong.

Still wearing the dreamy smile, Relena cuddled him and began to think about Heero. How it would feel like to be kissed and held by him like she was holding this bear.......Relena closed her eyes and pictured them standing on a beach, watching the sunset, kissing.......

And, unintentionally, she was so carried away in her daydream she kissed Kero.

Full on the lips.

Kero wanted to scream in terror. Her tongue ran over his tightly pressed lips. His eyes bulged and the guardian beast, once yellow, was now green.

_God oh god oh god oh god what was she THINKING???_

Making a smooching sound, she drew away and batted her eyes, still in her trance. "Oh Heero......"

_I will never tease Duo about his behavior towards Heero ever again. Especially after I met her. But first things first: get Duo to kill her._

Quatre was watching the whole thing nauseously by the stove. He gulped when Relena kissed the bear. _I'm feeling very sorry for the poor thing.....even it is a toy._

Heero walked in.

~*~*~*~

"Come on, Kero, you better stop playing!" Duo sighed. 

_Gee, baka, don't you ever learn?_ he chided himself. _You're lost and you're telling Kero to stop playing?_

He sighed again, exerting a puff of air. "Why do Quatre's mansions all have to be so big?" The pilot's shoulders sagged as he stopped his mechanical walking.

Two different hallways.

Two that went in different ways.

Two roads diverged in green carpet.

Which one would he take?

"Einie meanie minie moe," he said blankly. Duo frowned.

_You're a Gundam pilot! And a Card Captor! Think of something!!!_

His brow creased as he concentrated.

_What was it that Kero said? Magic is in the subconscious. I know that Quatre doesn't have magic because I felt none from him. Maybe if I try and turn it around to try and sense the cards, I'll be able to find Kero!_

"Giving it a try," he mumbled absently as he closed his mind to everything else and concentrated only on sensing the cards. Duo felt a rush through his head. It was a windy feeling, like it was clearing his jumbled and messy thoughts. The American could feel waves touching and tingling on his skin, rippling through the whole area.

The cards were in the direction of the right. He would take the right hallway.

_Ahh, first success! And I didn't need Kero's help.....okay, maybe his advice._

~*~*~*~

The first thing that came out of Heero's mouth was inadvertent.

"What are you doing with Duo's bear?"

Relena opened her mouth and stopped when his words hit her. Duo's bear?

"EEEEEEWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!"

She immediately flung Kero into the refrigerator.

"Oh, gross! That thing is so hideous! How could I have touched it!"

Heero stared at her. Then at the bear. Then at Quatre, who smiled sheepishly. He turned back to Relena.

"Relena, get out and go back to your duties as a Peacecraft. This place is no place for you." He stepped past her and picked up the doll.

"But Heero," she whined. "Aren't you glad to see me? I came all this way to see you!"

He ignored her and shoved the girl towards the door leading out back. Opening it, he pushed her outside and closed it, locking the door securely. Heero turned around and reassessed the yellow bear again. It felt oddly stiff in his hand. Heero frowned and picked up the pink book as well. It was the book that was with the stuffed animal.

Duo abhorred pink.

So why did he have a book of this color?

Heero merely blinked and picked up the book as well, tucking it under his arm with his laptop. He proceeded to exit the kitchen and head upstairs.

Maybe it was fortuitous that he bumped into the person he was looking for by the good old sideboard.

The unexpected swell of emotions rose in his chest as he registered the person he had crashed into. Heero stamped them out and glared.

"Baka," was all he said when he dumped the pink book and bear in Duo's hands. The American smiled in relief. He noticed the lipstick around Kero's lips and sweatdropped.

_Don't tell me she kissed him......_

Looking up, Duo smiled brightly. "Thanks, Hee-chan." He felt his cheeks flush from using the nickname. "Ah....um....where did you find him?"

"Relena," answered Heero simply. Duo winced.

"Oh. Uh.......I'msorryforyellingatyoulastnight!" The words he just blurted out barely registered in the American's mind. "Thanks for helping get Kero back and I think I'll just go right now and stop bothering you since you think I'm an annoyance and I need to finish some manga so seeya!" Duo bounded off and was halfway up the stairs when Heero stopped him.

"Duo."

The Deathscythe pilot froze. Kero remained stiff.

"Why do you keep a stuffed animal?"

Duo stifled a chuckle when Kero's face turned from yellow to red quicker than a traffic light. He turned around and smiled.

"I keep toys because they remind me of who I am outside the war. I am a fifteen year old. Boy in the time of peace, man at the time of war. But since I'm not always fighting, I can be a teenager during those times. Toys aren't just objects for amusement, Heero. They can be good confidants. I keep them to show that I can still be a normal person." Duo stared at the opposite wall. "It's not healthy to think about the war all the time."

The Perfect Soldier absorbed this. He looked up at Duo, whose face looked oddly serene. The pale skin seemed radiant. The violet orbs that housed his soul looked blank. Heero observed the new light that Duo seemed to take on, different from his blithe countenance. Now the pilot of Wing Zero finally realized that he and the others knew very little about the mysteriously odd American, despite the fact that Duo was a big mouth.

"Life is precious, Heero. You have to learn what it is before you destroy it. You have to treasure it before it is gone. You have to live it before you die." Duo smiled wistfully. "That's why I don't want you to self-destruct, Heero. There is so much to see, and so little time. But if you hold on, someday you can see what life truly is beyond the war." Smiling cheekily, the L2 pilot skipped up the rest of the steps and Heero could hear the click of a closing door.

He smiled.

"Domo arigato, Duo."

~*~*~*~

"That witch's breath was indescribably _foul! _I cannot believe she kissed me! On the lips, for Pete's sake, on the _lips_!!!"

Duo sighed. Kero had been ranting for two hours straight and he showed no signs of relenting. Rolling his eyes, Duo turned the next page of his book. He would never contradict Wufei's tirades ever again.

"Do you know how horrible it is to be slobbered all over by a disgustingly squealy girl???"

"Are you finished?"

Kero glared at him in righteous indignation. "Yes," he huffed, realizing that he was acting foolish.

"You've been ululating for two hours now," continued Duo, eyes flickering across the page. "I'm surprised that no one has heard you. Then again, I think Quatre gave me a soundproof room for the main purpose that I play loud music." Duo turned the page again. "You're disturbing me."

"Relena was disturbing," retorted Kero as he flew down to perch on Duo's shoulder. "What are you reading?"

"Harry Potter," Duo replied. "Relena is the Vice Foreign Minister. She used to be the Queen of the World."

"Ooh. How lacking in manners she is," muttered Kero. "Why Harry Potter? What is it anyway?"

"It's about a magical school of witches and wizards," Duo answered truthfully. "Got interested after I found the cards. It's absolutely fascinating."

"Ha. Your type doesn't seem to be the kind to read."

"Yeah, yeah, but when I get really interested I can stick to something for a long time." Duo frowned as he looked at the clock. "It's already five? I woke up at 11!"

"You said you woke up at 11:53," said Kero pointedly. "That counts as noon."

"Yeah, but time can't go that fast!" Duo flung the book onto the corner of the bed. "I have to wash my hair and I said I would do it tonight!"

Kero snorted. "When did you say so? With the amount of hair you have, it'll take a hundred years."

"No. About an hour with wash. With a blow-dryer it'll take twenty minutes to dry." Duo sighed. "Might as well start now. Seeya in an hour." He entered the adjacent bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Problem was, he never locked it.

So, in the middle of rinsing his hair with the shower.....

BOOM!

The door flew open, banging into the wall, leaving Duo to gape at the agitated guardian beast while water ran down in streams in his face.

~*~*~*~

"Okay, Kero, tell me why again I am out here, jumping around, wearing only a bathrobe and BOXERS???"

Hitting the ground on his right heel again, Duo sprung up, clutching the staff in one hand and the stack of cards in the other. He wore, true to his word, only a fluffy white bathrobe, a pair of black boxers, and plastic black slippers. Half of his skin was soaked with water from his bath, and his brown hair was not dry and flowed out behind him like a banner. The worst part were the long bangs that clung to his forehead.

"Because," Kero adopted a condescending tone, "a card showed up. You're a Card Captor. You can't let the cards get away!"

"Well aren't you nice," Duo replied, sarcasm dripping in his tone. "You could have at least let me dress."

"You'd want to dry your hair too," retorted the guardian beast. "Then the card would have vanished."

"Yeah, yeah. Two nights ago it was pajamas, now a bathrobe. Are you going to have me go stark naked next time?" Duo bounced, executed a somersault in midair, and landed again, jumping up again. The Jump card was pure fun sometimes. His brows knitted together. "Why are we heading that way?"

"The card is that way."

"Crap." Duo moved quicker. "Is that fire I see in the trees?"

"Yep. If you're lucky, it's the Firey card."

"Excuse me, but I don't think I heard correctly. The WHAT card?"

"The Firey."

"Damn." Duo picked up speed.

"What's wrong?"

"Fire and metal do not mix," he muttered. "Fire has heat. Heat melts metal. Bad bad bad thing......."

Kero sweatdropped. "What in the world are you talking about?" He flew down with Duo as the teen landed and dashed into the forest amongst the tall trees, the legs flashing so quickly he could barely keep up to the American's pace. They stopped just in the range of an unsettling heat, flames streaking all around them. It seemed to spiral around a gigantic big black machine of some sort, and Kero realized that it was the "Deathscythe" Duo had been talking about. Then he noticed the rage in Duo's violet eyes as they stared at the source of fire up ahead. The Deathscythe pilot looked extremely mad.

Immediately they were attacked by a roaring pillar of fire. Duo leapt up into the air, finding sanctuary on a tree branch before dodging yet another attack. He landed on the shoulder of Deathscythe. Another burst of flame erupted near the top of the black Gundam's head. Duo hissed in fury and jumped down, landing not far away facing the giant mobile suit.

"It can melt anything _but_ my Gundam," growled Duo in a menacing tone. Barely contained anger showed on his angular features as he glared at the flames erupting in the forest around the giant hulk of Deathscythe. He drew two cards from the deck in his left hand. So intent was he on saving his Gundam for the first time he did not flinch at the look of the pink cards.

"Watery, Rain, I command you to release and dispel the flames!" Duo raised the fuchsia staff and his power burst, unleashing the two cards above the staff. The wings stretched, and the golden star spun crazily to mark Duo's frenzied fury. _I don't care if this is a card—no one, absolutely NO ONE can melt Shinigami._

Exploding from the cards, Watery and Rain shot in opposite directions. The cute little Rain card hovered above the scene, and unleashed a staggering amount of stormy weather from her cloud. Duo scowled even darker as he began to get drenched.

"Okay, so maybe this wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but Rain's putting out the fire in the forest." Duo looked the other way to find the true form of Firey floating with a podium of fire at her disposal looking displeased as Rain continued to soak up things. The Watery card bared her fangs and shot forward, her entire body streaking wet droplets onto the forest floor. While succeeding in defeating the weakened Firey by wrapping the Elemental with ribbons of water, Watery also succeeded in making Duo more pissed.

She soused Deathscythe.

"Damn." Duo sighed in irritation and raised the staff. "Firey, Watery, and Rain, return to your cards confined! Sakura Cards!"

Within three seconds he had three pink cards in his hand.

He also had a wet/burnt forest, and soot covered soaking Gundam.

Life was hell.

"You did great, kid."

"Kero?"

"Yes?"

"Remind me to kill you after this whole thing is over."

Uncaptured Cards In Duo's possession 

The Change  
The Create  
The Dark   
The Earthy  
The Erase  
The Flower  
The Freeze  
The Hope  
The Illusion_  
_ The Light  
The Little  
The Lock  
The Loop  
The Maze  
The Mirror  
The Mist  
The Move  
The Return  
The Sand  
The Shield  
The Sleep  
The Snow  
The Storm  
The Thunder  
The Twin  
The Windy

The Arrow  
The Big  
The Bubbles  
The Cloud   
The Dash  
The Dream  
The Fight  
The Firey*  
The Float  
The Fly*  
The Glow  
The Jump*  
The Libra  
The Power  
The Rain  
The Shadow  
The Shot  
The Silent*  
The Song  
The Sweet  
The Sword  
The Through  
The Time  
The Voice  
The Watery  
The Wave  
The Wood

Are there too many cards yet to be captured? Because with all this I'm going to have to type a dreadful lot......But it would be interesting.


	4. Of Card Capturing and Housecleaning

All right. I meant to post this a while ago, but couldn't. I genuinely thank all the reviewers who gave ideas, and I'm working out a dozen things in my head. Thankfully, the school year has ended, and hopefully I'll be able to devote some more time to writing the rest of this fanfic.

I sound idiotic. If Duo seems a tad OOC in this chapter, remind me and I'll go and correct his psyche. This chapter was made out of pure fun, and I seriously need to slack off from the practical jokes. I'm working on the next two chapters. Be patient.....

One more note: Apparently I forgot that Kero could only speak (what was it? Osaka? I have a bad memory) Japanese. So, consider it that he learnt English with Sakura.

Chapter IV - _Of Card Capturing and Housecleaning_

"MAXWELL!!!!!!!"

Ah, the wake-up call.

After Duo had asked Trowa about the location of Wufei's room, Quatre decided it was more efficient to group their rooms together. Then the American pilot would not always end up getting lost in the massive mansion, which proved troublesome if Duo ended up yelling and screaming down the hallways to find a way back.

Wufei stormed out of his room, and dripped pink paint on the polished floor. Quatre came out of his bedroom, took one look at the Chinese pilot, and stifled a quick laugh. Trowa, however, came out dressed only in his boxers. A glint of anger resonated in the emerald eyes. Quatre glanced at him, puzzled.

"Clothes dyed yellow and pink."

Then, another door was flung open, and Heero stepped out, his face a mask of fury. He had his gun in hand. The other three pilots looked at him questioningly. Heero just stepped away from his door and stalked down the hall. They looked into his room.

It had been demoralized. All kinds of papers were scattered across the floor, and Heero's clothes were thrown all over the place. Several mangas and magazines lay at random amongst the mess. But Quatre noticed that even in the piles of junk, there was no sign of Heero's laptop. It was missing, no doubt, and they all knew who took it.

Duo.

But just as they were pondering the missing pilot, the long-haired American toddled up the stairs. They all turned and stared at him, all the while Wufei dripping watery pink paint. Quatre frowned as Duo tumbled towards his room, pushing open the door. He was holding that yellow teddy bear that Relena had yesterday. But the teen just entered without closing the door behind him, so it was obvious that Wufei would have a delayed reaction.

"Maxwell!" Wufei bellowed, stomping to the open doorway. "Your practical jokes have gone too far!" A pillow flew out and hit him in the face.

"Leave me alone." Duo's voice floated out into the hall. "Last night I went and cleaned Deathscythe, checked for problems, and repaired whatever was damaged. Then I fell asleep in the cockpit and when I woke up this morning I had an ultimate headache and a crick in my neck. So get out, Wu-man, I'm not in the mood. If I switch to Shinigami mode, you're going to be dead sorry."

After capturing the Firey card, Duo, soaked to the skin, sent Kero back for clothes while using the Bubbles (as instructed by the guardian beast) to clean his soot-covered Gundam. Then Duo checked his systems, changing his clothes in the cockpit. He was extremely pissed. Lucky for him Gundanium did not rust; otherwise, he would have a huge problem on his hands. Kero went to sleep way before he did.

"Don't lie Maxwell, who else who play such nefarious pranks? My whole room is now officially pink! And paint is dripping from the ceiling!" Wufei scowled darkly. "You're going to clean it up."

"Am not," replied Duo into the bed. "I am not going to clean up what I didn't do, okay? I'm exhausted and my hair is a mess. So if I still have to work after all I've been through last night I'm going to kill somebody. And remember, Wu, I run I hide but I don't lie."

Heero returned. He looked at the three figures around the door, and frowned. "Quatre, the kitchen is also trashed."

The blonde's eyes narrowed. "Duo?"

"I swear to God, Quatre," the American stumbled from the bed and teetered uncertainly on his feet, managing to attain somewhat a balance. "I didn't do it. I was in Deathscythe the whole night and I need aspirin and coffee and my brains are about to explode and I know I'm starting to babble but I don't care and I just want a good, decent rest, okay?" His skin was unnaturally pale and the dark circles under the sleepy violet eyes showed even more proof of the American's exhaustion.

"No doubt you stayed up last night to do the damage that is here now." Wufei rolled his eyes as more pink paint slid down over his face. He was trying very hard not to explode. "Kuso."

"Security cameras, Quatre." Trowa's three words were enough to satisfy all of them. His suggestion was the only possible answer.

However, after Wufei changed to avoid dripping pink paint and all of them were downstairs, Duo was literally sleeping on his feet. The normally energetic pilot swayed on his spot, often getting a wary look from Heero. But one thing did not change, despite his tiredness. A lopsided grin lingered still on his lips.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

Heero frowned. After finding his room trashed and laptop missing, he had fully intended to take the Deathscythe pilot and shoot him. But after the initial rage passed Heero realized it was a silly idea and checked all the rooms on the first floor. He was not surprised to find the kitchen in considerable disarray. Duo would have to clean up after his own practical jokes. All of them clustered around his seat in front of the screens of the security system.

_To hell with the emotions, _he told himself.

"I know I spent my night in Deathscythe, unless I had learned how to sleepwalk, you know, there's no waaaaayyyy—" Duo's last word was drawn out by his surprise at seeing the one figure appear on one of the playback screens. The person was unmistakable, with a long braid trailing down his back. And the person turned and looked at the camera. And smiled.

Duo gulped.

~*~*~*~

"I just_ love_ being a Gundam pilot."

"Yeah, but did that include cleaning house when they hired you?"

"Shut up, Kero."

Duo rolled his eyes as he hefted the mangas in his arms. He sighed wearily and slugged out of the room to his door and flung them in, not bothering to watch as they tumbled on his bed and floor. The American just dragged his feet back to Heero's room. Kero flew out.

"That was the last of the stacks," he informed the teen. "Heero's room is entirely clean now. The only thing missing is his laptop. It wasn't in your room or his room."

"It has to be somewhere," moaned Duo. "I mean, this house is too big to search up and down!" He rubbed his eyes with his arm.

"Where do you think whoever it was put it?" asked Kero, hovering by Duo's shoulder. Normally, he would have preferred to be on his own playing games or eating, but Duo refused him food if he didn't help, so resentfully he pitched in his share.

"I'm going to kill that doppelganger, if Heero doesn't kill me first. They're all expecting me to clean up and make sure that I have everything back in place!" Duo sighed and opened the door to Wufei's room. One look and he groaned. The walls were smudged with pink paint. Globs hung off in haphazard lumps, making the wall look like it grew warts. "This is impossible!"

"You might want to use the Bubbles card now," Kero suggested. "After all, your friends aren't around to see you. They all went to their Gundams."

"Don't you think I know that? Stop stating the obvious. I do have common sense, you know." Duo sighed and pulled out his pendant, rolling up the sleeves of his priest outfit. He wished that he knew who played the pranks to get him in trouble. Now not only was he tired, he was also stuck with the job of cleaning up the messes by 1500. It was 0945, and he had started 0823. It was going to be long and tedious work if he cleaned the paint by hand.

_"Key of the Star,  
__Unleash the powers of light  
Set free the staff   
And let it shine bright  
Release!"_

Grabbing the staff, Duo whipped it around behind him, and pulled out the Bubbles card. Kero gave him a wide range, watching the interaction intently. The staff shimmered with magic.

"Bubbles Card, cleanse the wall of paint! Release!" Duo brought the staff down on the card, igniting the rectangle with light. The card exploded into ribbons of smoke, and the magic washed over the wall. Foam spread quickly around the room, engulfed both with bubbles. Even the ceiling was coated in white, Bubbles scrubbing away.

However, when Bubbles retreated to its card, they could see a new problem.

Duo glared at the plaster, the paintless walls. He scowled so deeply that his body radiated extreme annoyance. Kero blinked at the expression the American wore. Both sweatdropped and sighed at the same time.

"Now I'm going to have to paint it," Duo groaned. "Why doesn't Wufei just get himself another room?" He stomped out and charged into Trowa's room, emptying the drawers and closets. When the furniture was empty and all the clothes were piled up in front of him, he yanked out the Bubbles card.

Housecleaning was _not_ his expertise.

~*~*~*~

"You've only got the kitchen left," said Kero cheerfully as he banged on the handheld video game system that Duo gave him. "All right! I passed another level—and beat your score!"

"Shut up," Duo grumbled. He had just finished repainting the room walls. Even Kero had to admit that the paint job was good for one who had never painted walls before.

"Well, I was thinking about what you told me about someone who looked exactly like you showing up in the camera—NO!!!"

The pilot's head snapped up and he nearly dropped the half-full paint can. Duo scowled. "Stop scaring me like that. It's not like that was the first time you've lost a life in three hours. I could have easily taken out my gun and shot you, ya know."

"I'll worry about that when it happens," Kero retorted. He pressed furiously on the buttons. "Great. Now I have to start all over at the beginning of the level and I was so close to the portal out!!!"

Lugging the can out into the hallway, Duo peered back in. "What were you going to say before you died? On the game, that is."

"Nani? Oh. I was going to tell you that it could be a card—after all, it's not the first time that's happened."

"What?" Duo dropped the can. Lucky for him, it didn't spill. "If it's because of a card I'm doing all this terrible work, then I am seriously quitting my job as a Card Captor."

"Come on!" Kero jerked the controls on the device. "Yes! Scored another 250!" He then glanced at Duo and returned to his game. "You can't quit. Especially not after I gave you the staff. Your job isn't going to be finished until you've captured all the cards and they're going to keep coming back until you do."

"But I haven't been getting decent sleep, my Gundam was nearly burned, and now I have to do house labor! Where's the fun in that?"

"No one said this job was going to be fun," Kero returned with a knowing smirk. "Look, if you're going to complain about it, then why not clean up?"

"If I don't clean up what _I_ did, the others will refuse to do it and nothing would get fixed. It's like the story of the seven brothers and the farm. The first six brothers stayed home and lazed around, but what should the seventh brother do? The seventh brother will have to go out to the farm to work, because if he didn't, then both his brothers and he will starve."

"That's a stupid fable."

"But meaningful."

"Get back to work, Aesop."

Duo growled and then picked up his paint can with renewed vigor, stomping all the way downstairs. Once depositing the can in the proper place where it belonged in the cellar, Duo sighed and walked into the kitchen, preparing for the worst.

He never expected it.

The sink was plugged with a mixture of grape juice and orange juice, making it a sickly swirl of orange and purple. Small puddles of water were all over the floor, no doubt from ice that had melted. All kinds of edible things littered the walls and counters, and lumps of jam and peanut butter dripped from the ceiling. The walls were coated with whipped cream and streams of milk still ran down. It was an absolutely horrifying sight, not because it disgusted him, but because he had to clean it all........

"What a waste of good food," commented Kero as he floated into the kitchen. "You're going to need the Bubbles again."

"Yeah, but that means I'll have to paint the kitchen!"

"Just instruct Bubbles to clean off the food, but not the paint."

"NOW YOU TELL ME???!!!" Duo glared murderously at Kero, who shrank from the death in the violet eyes. "OMAE O KOROSU!!!"

~*~*~*~

Heero frowned as he stared at the wires.

Something didn't feel right.

He shook his head. The Perfect Soldier did not listen to his feelings.

So why was he worrying about it?

_It might involve Duo.......the missions......._

It wasn't 1500 yet, but he decided to go back and check anyway.

It was just in case.....for the missions.

_I hate lying to myself._

~*~*~*~

"Thank God it's finally over!"

Duo threw himself onto the unkempt bed, burying his face in the pillow. "I seriously need to change these clothes and get some sleep," he mumbled. He dropped the pink staff onto the floor, along with the Bubbles card. 

"You still have yet to find that card," Kero reminded the teen. "I zipped around earlier and got vibes of magic. You better act fast, or the card, whichever one it is, will escape."

"Will you just shut up? I've been working all day and you can only talk about your damn cards!"

Kero was about to answer with a haughty reply when a loud crash alerted them of another presence. Both froze, and then looked at one another. Duo jumped out of the room in record speed, nearly colliding with the wall as he jumped the stairs and skipped towards the entrance hall where the crash had sounded.

He nearly screamed when he looked.

The doppelganger stood over a broken small vase that had once stood on the mantelpiece. It was frowning slightly, head tilted, eyes focused on the mirror over the fireplace. Duo stared, mouth agape, as he caught a look at it in the mirror.

The reflection was different. It didn't show violet eyes and brown hair, but instead an image of a pretty girl with pale skin and two ponytails framing her face. A pattern of diamonds decorated her forehead. But that was not his face.

Somehow, deep inside Duo got a feeling that there was sadness in those green eyes. He could see a longing, and pain, as well as suffering deep within. Whatever card it was, it wasn't mischievous or malicious. The pretty girl looked lost, and lonely, as if pining away for love and care.

"The Mirror Card!" hissed Kero.

Whirling around, the card noticed their presence. But it was too late. Kero had stated its name, and the true form was unveiled. Light flashed, blinding the occupants of the hall. Duo raised his arms to shield his eyes, turning away. Kero almost dropped the staff and cards he was holding in his arms. When it cleared up, Duo blinked several times to return his vision. And standing in front of the mirror now was the sad girl, or, as Kero had identified her, Mirror.

She looked terrified at their presence. Mirror shrunk from them, the round mirror in her arms trembling with her apprehension. The pale green eyes glistened, on the verge of spilling with tears. Despite the fact that she was the card, Mirror was taller than Duo; but at the same time she looked wan and small. The card sunk to her knees, robes flowing about her. Duo stepped forward slowly, afraid he would frighten her.

"Mirror looks dreadful," Kero whispered. Duo glanced at him, and took the cards and staff reluctantly. He approached Mirror, stopping to stand by her.

"Mirror?" he asked softly. Duo crouched down. "Is there something wrong?"

She looked at him, surprised. He smiled, and Kero floated down, hovering around the top of Duo's head. The familiar golden guardian beast was recognized.

_Keroberos......Then you must be the Card Captor....._

They started, hearing her voice in their heads. Both shot a look at one another, and then they turned back to Mirror.

_I can't sense him......He's gone......._

Of the two, Duo voiced the question. "Who?"

Mirror shook her head in response.

_It doesn't matter.....Are you going to capture me? Our last mistress died......It has been a long time since someone had cared for us.....We are all so lonely......_

"The cards.....Those two millennia must have been long for them." Kero sighed.

"But you're not alone now," Duo said cheerfully, grinning. "You got me. I dunno if I'll be able to capture all of my cards, but I'm not going to let any sad girl down, card or not." He stood up. "Maybe I can get to know the cards better. You must have been pretty lonely. I'll try my best to divide my time. I don't like being alone either." Duo held out a hand to help the card up. "Come on." 

Mirror cast a long glance at his hand, and then smiled as she looked up at him.

_You would be a nice master......And a nice friend......I wish you good luck, Card Captor......_

He knew it was his cue. Stepping back, Duo raised the staff, eyes focused on the Mirror card as he brought it down.

"Mirror Card, return to your power confined!"

A new, lasting smile was wrought upon Mirror's lips as she vanished into the glowing rectangle by the staff. Kero watched silently, an observer in the shadows, until the Star circle disappeared and the pink card floated down into Duo's waiting hand. When it stopped blazing with multicolored light, Kero peered over Duo's shoulder.

The figure on the card was smiling.

~*~*~*~

Trowa blinked and stared with his one eye. He frowned.

When he had walked in a few seconds ago, he did not expect to find Duo. Or the excessive light display. Or the floating teddy bear.

"You make a good Card Captor, Duo," the yellow bear addressed the American pilot.

"Yeah," he heard Duo answer. "I guess."

He inhaled sharply, catching their attention. Both froze, backs to him.

"You look first," Duo told the bear.

"What, and get shot by a gun?"

"You're quick! You can dodge it. And besides, I make an easier target."

"Are you nuts???"

"Duo," Trowa interrupted, sensing an approaching spat. They turned around. Duo let out a puff of air.

"Oh, goody, it's only Trowa."

"What?" Kero began to zoom around in agitation. "Great! The secret's blown! You're supposed to be a Card Captor, Duo! You don't just go about telling people that you're one! Now," he continued, oblivious to the murderous look Duo cast his way, "Now your friend knows and he just might as able tell someone else about it and I'm going to get killed by your nice Perfect Soldier friend and I would just love to be your target practice—MMF!"

Grabbing the guardian beast with a hand over the mouth, Duo seized hold of Trowa's arm and proceeded to drag the taller pilot down the hall to find a safer place to talk. Throwing open the door to a secluded closet, Duo shoved Trowa and Kero in before closing the door and pulling on the light cord.

"Shut up, Kero, throwing hissy fits won't help. Trowa—if you breath even one word about this, I'll make sure that you're bald. This is not to be talked about—especially not to Heero, you hear me?"

Trowa blinked mutely in response. Kero stared.

"Why the hell are you back so early anyway—I thought we agreed on 1500! Trowa man, I swear, if you hadn't come back early then maybe I wouldn't be yelling at you. And Kero, you don't start jabbering at me because someone just happened to come back early. I've spent half my day cleaning and scrubbing—one more bombshell and I'll use Deathscythe to squash you. Damn, if someone else was watching I don't know what would happen, especially if it was Heero," Duo huffed, breath slightly exhausted from his rant.

The green-eyed pilot settled back and smiled thinly. "Explain."

"Look, ask Kero. He's the one who got me into this mess. It has nothing to do with OZ, so don't start shooting yet. Ask him why I was the one who supposedly opened the book and now I have to capture his stupid cards and the reason I have to clean up is because one of the cards was causing trouble—"

"Stop babbling and explain things in a more understandable way," Kero snapped. "You aren't helping."

"Well like you are?" Duo shot Kero a death glare and then sighed in exasperation.

"That night when you guys were out, I kinda found this book with cards in it in one of Quatre's libraries. And.....I opened it, and unleashed some magical cards out on Earth, so I have to get them back before they start doing big time damage. Kero here was protecting the cards, but he came out a bit too late to save the half of the deck that flew away." Duo rolled his eyes. "This isn't the best explanation but as of now I can only scrounge up so much. I'll give you a more eloquent speech later. Kero, stay out of sight. Trowa, chat with him. Keep him occupied. I don't want anyone else to find out. Mirror broke a vase outside and I better clean it up," he said, opening the closet door. "Before anyone else gets back—Heero!"

The Japanese pilot was staring at them. Kero managed to bury himself in a dark corner before Heero could see him--but Duo and Trowa weren't so lucky. There was a long silence—then Duo broke out into a smile.

"What are you doing back here? I thought you were all going to spend some time out until I cleaned out the place."

An odd, peculiar expression appeared behind the Prussian blue eyes. Duo blinked in surprise.

"Uh, Heero?" He waved a hand in front of the Wing pilot's face. "Earth to Heero, Duo at twelve o'clock!"

Heero's gaze seemed to wander from Duo to Trowa, and then he turned and walked through another door. Or stalked, to term it correctly. Trowa's eyes flickered with amusement, while Duo stared after the retreating figure in a puzzled way. Kero, watching from the closet, snickered. He recognized the signs. Syaoran seemed to have the habit of acting the same way when Eriol was around Sakura......

_Was that.....**jealousy** I saw in Heero's eyes? Nah, impossible. _ Duo shook his head. "Trowa, I think Heero's got a problem with me."

Two noises that sounded like smothered coughs sounded from Trowa's and Kero's directions. Duo glared at them.

"It's _not_ funny," he said vehemently, frowning. "What could be funny about someone not liking you?"

"You like him," Trowa answered flatly, managing to keep the humor and tease out of his tone.

Duo flushed a hot red. He realized that the taciturn pilot was probably more observant of his behavior than he believed. "Don't say a word about either one of those things, Heero and cards," Duo warned, violet eyes flashing. "I have the feeling that Quatre knows the Heero thing, but he is not to know about the cards whatsoever, or I'll sic the Maganacs on you. Kero, you and Trowa find some random room and explain things fully. I still have to find Heero's laptop and sweep up the broken vase pieces."

And, as usual, this was said all in one breath.

~*~*~*~

**Kero**

_Duo might actually make a successful Card Captor and become the master of the cards......It's possible. His earlier actions of compassion with Mirror proved that he could sense the cards' sorrows. He is connected to them even before he captures them. I wonder if Clow Reed had anticipated this kind of sorcerer. Sakura was close with the cards after she captured them. Then she transformed them. Would Duo be able to hold that long? I got the gut instinct that he will triumph.....Time will tell. But who is going to test him this time? Clow Reed can be reincarnated again; maybe even Sakura will be reborn. Who knows? I just hope that Duo is up to the challenges he is going to face as Card Master......_

~*~*~*~

**Heero**

_Why did I stalk away? Was I angry? No. Anger provokes violence; I did not punch neither Duo nor Trowa. So what was wrong? Why am I **feeling**? Duo gave me a strange look when I was staring at them. Were they having an intimate relationship? Perfect soldiers are not nosy. Yet somehow I am curious.....Why Trowa, would I ask? This might be the reason why Duo is acting so oddly lately. It might be because of this....personal.....thing. But still, if they were making out in that closet, I do not want this to interfere with the missions......Right?_

_Am I jealous?_

~*~*~*~

_Where in the world could a laptop be?_ wondered Duo. _Mirror moved things around, but I'm sure no computer could be hidden that well without having been found in such a long period of time._

Just as he thought it, however, Duo spotted Heero's laptop in the room he just entered. It was sitting on a high shelf, as if it had every right to be lying around there. But when he walked across the room to reach for the computer, Duo discovered that the laptop wasn't there.

_Strange,_ he thought. The American could swear that the machine had been on the shelf......

And was now perched on the plush seat of a red armchair. Duo frowned. Something didn't feel right. Bending over, his hand reached for the laptop, but before he made contact, it vanished.

"Huh?"

Whirling around, he spotted the vague shape of a speeding laptop slipping out the open door.

"Oh shit." Duo took off after the laptop. "Where is Kero when you need him? This definitely feels like a card—but which one?"

Entering another room, Duo caught a glimpse of the mechanical device with little pink wings on the sides. He stared in horror before it disappeared. Shaking his head, Duo spun around and spotted the computer hanging off the edge of a shelf. He immediately ran over to grab it, succeeding in holding nothing but air. Duo growled in frustration as another flicker of movement slipped past the edge of his eye. Without hesitation he slammed and locked all the doors in the room, closing off all exits including the windows. Now it wouldn't be able to move out that quickly.

He drew out the pendant that contained the key to the staff. Releasing it, Duo grasped the pink staff tightly in his hands, wielding it like a scalpel. The American spun around as the laptop continued to move into various places. He felt a crashing weight on his back and fell forward, groaning mildly in protest. He had landed flat on his face.

"Kuso!" Pushing himself up on his elbows, Duo rubbed his nose. "How does that thing move so fast?" Thinking back on the information of the cards that Kero had fed him, the American pilot stood up hastily and tightened his grip on the staff.

_Wood, should I use Wood? No, that would make it even harder for me to move. If I use Firey.......forget it. But what about Time? _Pulling out the cards that Kero handed him earlier, Duo shuffled through the deck until his found the Time card. The laptop continued to whiz all around the room, one second on the light fixture and the next perched on a chair. Duo ignored it.

_The Time. What did Kero say it could do? Ah, yeah, I remember now. It can freeze time. Maybe if I freeze time now, I can have some time to figure out what the card is and capture it as well. It's worth a try......_

"Time Card! Release and dispel!"

A wave of magic passed through the house, freezing everything but Kero and Duo. Kero, in another room, scowled.

_What the heck does he think he is doing? Duo shouldn't play with the cards!_

The L2 pilot, however, was thinking differently.

"Damn.......Kero never warned me that using any of the cards would make me feel extra tired....." He struggled to stand. "Now where is that card?"

Heero's laptop was in mid-motion, poised in the air. Little wings stood out from the sides. Duo closed his eyes.

"Which card was it?" he muttered. A light bulb clicked on in his head.

"Eureka! Returned to your card confined! Move Card!" Duo sagged the moment the glowing rectangle landed in his hand. Two cards shimmered and settled. The Time and the Move. He exhaled.

"I'll think twice before using Time anymore."

One of the doors opened and a very active guardian beast zoomed in. "DUO! What do you think you were doing? The cards are not for fun! You don't use them for no purpose!"

"Shut up, Kero, I was capturing the Move card. It gave me a whole shitload of trouble." Duo blew at his bangs and his eyes narrowed. "You didn't just leave Trowa there, did you?"

Kero sweatdropped.

"Did you stop to think about what he would think when he opens his eye and realizes that you weren't there? He's a soldier too, Kero. And out of the five of us, Trowa is the one with the personality closest to Heero's."

"He seems like a nice guy. Hasn't said a word back to me when we were chatting. Unlike _someone_," remarked Kero, raising his eyebrow at Duo. The pilot snorted and picked up the laptop where it had fell on the cushions of a sofa.

"Trowa's good at being a stone, Kero. He doesn't talk back to anyone. Nice is not a word you would associate with any one of us except Quatre. Now I better go and return this to Heero......" He tucked the pendant into his shirt. "And why would you think I was playing with the cards?"

"Well........"

"You naturally assumed I was a carefree idiot, didn't you?" Duo smiled sadly. "That's what everyone thinks. Most of the time I do act like that, but it's something I hide behind. We're all wearing masks. I know when it's time to have fun and when it is time to be serious. I like to lighten the mood. Tension doesn't work out; we'll all be too stressed to do anything if we were constantly worried. All of us need something to keep our minds off the war." His solemn expression changed to one of anxiousness. "Boy, Heero must be dying without his laptop. I better get it back to his room fast. Oh yeah, Kero?"

"Yes?"

"Who do you think Mirror was talking about when she said 'him'?"

"Probably Touya. Sakura's brother. He was....acquainted with Mirror. A brother sister relationship, I guess. Mirror kinda liked him, I suppose, and he's dead now." Kero suddenly smirked. "Aren't you going to get her back for playing so many jokes and placing the blame on you?"

"Nah. I'm not mean. Besides, Mirror was just lonely and wanted some attention. She probably didn't realize it until she looked in the real mirror and saw exactly how _alone_ she was." Duo smiled. "Some people refuse to admit to the fact sometimes that they have no friends. I know how horrible the feeling is, so don't blame Mirror for playing some jokes. The pink water balloon painting of the walls was actually a great idea. Wonder why I didn't think of it........"

Kero rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right, smartass. The King of Practical Jokes you are, aren't you......"

Duo laughed. "Nice nickname, Kero. Sounds splendid. But still, my name is Shinigami." Grinning widely, Duo slipped out of the room and darted through the halls, heading for Heero's room. He was surprised, however, when he got there, because normally Heero, cooped up, did not get out often.

_Oh yeah, I forgot. Heero only stays in one place as long as he's got his laptop. Problem is, I have it right now._

Staring at the neatly made bed that he had fixed earlier, Duo sighed. Was there something wrong with him? Why should he be disappointed if Heero wasn't around? The Wing pilot didn't seem like he wanted Duo to be hovering over his shoulder. But still...He was curious. And he wanted to know.

"Might as well hand him his laptop without some other card getting to it," Duo mumbled.

~*~*~*~

Opening the door to his room, Heero was taken aback to find Duo curled up asleep on top of the covers, his laptop wedged in the American's arms. He frowned and checked the clock. It was 1320 the last time he saw Duo; now it was barely 2000 and the L2 pilot was already asleep? Duo never slept that early unless there was a mission. But they did push him to clean up today.....

Sighing, Heero reached over, attempting to disentangle his laptop from Duo's hands. But the American's fingers only served to clutch it tighter; he shifted his position, turning away from the Wing pilot. Heero blinked.

"Don't take it, Kero," he heard Duo mutter. "Heero needs his laptop."

_Kero?_

TBC....

Number of cards left to be captured - 24  
Cards captured in this chapter - Mirror, Move

If you want to know, there is a reason why Trowa gets to know that Duo is a Card Captor. It'll be revealed in another chapter, once I manage to get all my ideas down correctly.


	5. Given a Reason

This chapter is a like a card capture marathon. I thought about this one for a while, and had it planned out ahead of time. Whether or not I wrote out the chapter well, I have no clue. So far I know I'm kind of slacking off on the war and the other G-boys, but I'll try my best to incorporate them into my fic later on.

When I was typing up this chapter my idea was based on a suggestion from one of my reviewers about Kero getting a look at war (thank you, Kalika Maxwell!). And so here it is: the demolition of several factories and the carnage of war, and the thoughts of the guardian beast as he finds out what Duo does as a Gundam pilot.

If you see the way I am addressing the cards sometimes as 'he', 'she', or 'it', then it's because I know some cards are male or female. Others, I'm stumped.

Chapter V -_ Given a Reason_

**02:**

**A number of small OZ bases has popped up. They are mass-producing a number of different mobile suits. The chain of bases were well-hidden. OZ may be planning to attack with an overwhelming force to destroy the outnumbered Gundams. Mission: To terminate the bases located at the following coordinates.**

**Hurry in your answer. I have to catch a flight to Puerto Rico.**

**G**

Duo stared at the glowing screen of his laptop. He read the coordinates. He reread the message. There were about five different pairs on the list. All of them were scattered along the west coast of North America, fairly close to each other. Duo frowned, and then chuckled.

"So Pestilence is going to the Caribbean, ne? Better ask him to bring me back a souvenir.....It'll be good to take Deathscythe out for a good exercise.....after all, I haven't blown anything up for ages. And five? That's a lot of bases to blow up. Maybe their info is screwing up." Checking the clock, Duo whistled. "I've played about a hundred pranks on the guys anyway....."

~*~*~*~

"Whoopee!"

Deathscythe zoomed thought the atmosphere unnoticed, hidden from the eyes of even the sharp eagles that flew through the air below the giant machine. Duo grinned, feeling the exhilaration of being in the cockpit flying with thrill.

But one thing almost ruined all of that.

"HEEELLLLLLLOOOOOOO!" A yellow blur suddenly shot out from nowhere in his cockpit, startling the American pilot.

"YAAAAAHHHHHH!!! KERO!!!"

Immediately the black Gundam seemed to topple and fall from its glide in the air as Duo released his controls. Panic washed over him like a wave and frantically Duo turned on the autopilot. Then he grabbed the guardian beast and began to throttle him.

"What the hell were you thinking, hiding out in my cockpit like that??? You could have gotten us killed, I lost my concentration so badly—why didn't you stay back at Quatre's mansion? For Chrissake, what the HELL are you doing in my Gundam???"

"Excuse ME," Kero retorted, cheeks flushing a bright red. "I'm here to watch out for any cards that you can encounter today. Cards can pop up anywhere, Duo, and you have to learn to expect the unexpected."

"The battlefront is not a place for you, Kero." Duo released the yellow beast. "I don't think you should be here at all."

"Hey, kiddo, remember, I'm two thousand some hundred years older than you. I've seen battle all right, and I've fought before. Some war shouldn't stop me."

"This is different, Kero. The fights you've been in probably involved magic and that stuff. But this is bloody massacre, ya ought to know. We're flying over a planet of battlefields. This isn't a regular magical fight with rules and honor. This is war. And you haven't seen it firsthand before, so don't act so tough like you wouldn't care. Because I've been fighting and I care. I care a lot. I'm a soldier too." Duo's face was blank, devoid of any emotion. "It's not just fighting, Kero."

_I know this is war,_ Kero thought. _Why does he have to make it sound so complicated?_

"All right, all right, I get your point. But still, the _cards_. Better off having my guidance rather than risking your magic in decisions like what you did with Move and Time, hm?"

"Idiot." Duo sighed. "Fine. Just......don't tell me that I didn't say so, okay? 'War', actually, is a three letter word that is used to describe the worst of these things. Violence between human beings to the extreme."

"Okay, okay, now what are you supposed to do on this so-called 'mission'?"

"You'll see."

"You're lucky I brought the deck with me. Cards may be at the places you're going to. They stay within radius of magic. And if they happen to be there, you're going to have to capture them before they can get away. If you don't, then......." Kero launched into another long speech on the philosophies of card capture. Duo sighed and sat back, folding his arms across his chest.

_Does he always have to ramble so crazily whenever he talks about the cards? He's really devoted to his job. Maybe I'm just finally getting a taste of myself, a talkative freak. I can't blame him; Kero has been good company when the other guys aren't around. He may be a bit nutty sometimes, but Kero, I can tell, is very loyal to his friends. He hasn't been alone all his life, I guess. Even during the years in which the book remained dormant, he had the cards. Maybe he's someone I'm going to be driving away......He doesn't seem like he is able to die........Unless Heero manages to shoot him, that is. Can guardian beasts die from bullets?_

~*~*~*~

"Something doesn't feel right."

"Yes, and you've said that sixteen times the past five minutes that we have been sitting idle in your 'Gundam'." Kero was beginning to look constipated. He floated up and down by Duo's right hand, which was still wrapped around the control. His ears perked, and a soft golden glow surrounded the guardian beast. Kero blinked as Duo watched him curiously.

"There's a card," he said simply. Duo nodded and removed the harness, opening the hatch and sliding out of his Gundam. Deathscythe was well hidden from the base, which was at the higher altitude of a plateau. Duo sweatdropped when he stared up at the rising wall of rocks he had to climb. Jump couldn't get him up there in one leap.

"No way am I going to climb that thing," stated Duo, shaking his head. Kero crossed his arms and snorted.

"Just use the Fly card. It'll get you up there in no time."

"I can't always rely on the cards!" Duo complained, glaring at Kero in plain exasperation.

"Look," Kero pointed out, "you would have been doing something else without the need to climb this cliff if it weren't for a card. So might as well use a card to get up, don't you think?" He seemed proud of his logic. Duo rolled his eyes. He stared up again.

"The thought of it is so tempting......but I won't use cards for every mission I have unless it's absolute emergency. Which is now, of course." Duo grinned and pulled out the key pendant.

_"Key of the Star,  
__Unleash the powers of light  
Set free the staff  
And let it shine bright  
__Release!"_

Within minutes—

"All right Fly card!" The American crowed as he sped straight up at a ninety-degree angle. Laughing, Duo felt the weight of his braid whipping about behind him. Kero stayed clear out of the way, avoiding contact with the long hair. He beat his tiny wings several times to keep up with Fly's impressive pace.

"Don't you think you're having little too much fun?"

"Awe, come on, Kero, nothing can ever be too much fun! Even," he did his best to keep his voice down, "even if it's a card capture."

Kero frowned.

"I don't go with the philosophy of, 'All work and no play makes people go bonkers.' I prefer to think that work and play should be mixed as one. This is pure fun!" cheered the energetic pilot, punching a fist in the air. He succeeded in unbalancing and nearly lost his grip on the staff he was seated on. "Whoa!"

"You might want to get piloting lessons for a winged staff first," Kero commented, snickering.

"I don't need any piloting lessons! You know I told you I'm a A+ pilot and I can pilot anything! Even a winged staff! I don't need lessons, Kero, I'm one of the best there is!" Duo glared the guardian beast as they cleared the plateau. He found an effective hiding place—a group of tall trees that edged the east side of the base's surrounding wall. Landing and disappearing in the shadows, Duo stopped short of the wall. Kero crashed into the middle of his back.

"What did you stop for?" hissed the yellow beast in frustration.

"I'm going into a place I don't even know anything about except for the fact that I have to blow it up!" Duo shot back. Kero turned pale.

"You mean you were going to blow this place up???"

"It's my job, Kero, no time to explain now. Just wish me luck that I would get out of there without getting captured. Your cards are going to pay big time if I get caught." And Duo scaled the wall without breaking a sweat in less than five seconds. Kero, still on the other side, blinked uncomprehendingly. He quickly flew up and over.

"You move too fast."

"Do not. We are supposed to be moving at this speed."

"You're hopeless."

"I've been told that many times."

"Whomever said it was right."

"In your dreams, Kero."

But just as the two were quietly bantering, they stopped when a surge of power penetrated their thoughts. Both heads snapped up as their surroundings molded into tall green hedges, swirling and building themselves steady. Duo's eyes flicked from side to side as he looked around, noticing that behind him was a dead end. He began to glare crossly at the grass green walls that created the effect of a high hallway with no roof.

"And which card would this be......?"

"The Maze," Kero answered promptly. "You have a problem. Last time Kaho was there to help Sakura with her bell, but you're going to have to find a way out on your own."

"Do you know, Kero, that half the stuff you say I don't know. You've never mentioned Kaho or whoever she is, and I'm not going to even bother asking. I met my match in being chatty."

"I am NOT chatty, you baka."

"Are too. Damn. Now I'm a rat running through a maze. Isn't card capturing fun?" The sarcasm was not lost. Duo reached out and ran a hand over one of the walls surrounding him. "So now what? Should I just use the Sword to dice up this hell? Green naturally isn't too bad a color, but I'm seeing too much of it."

Snorting in response, Kero shook his bulbous head. "Iie. Sword didn't work when Sakura used it. You're going to have to use another card to beat Maze. The only way you can capture it is from the outside. And no matter what, don't use Firey. The whole place will go up in flames and we'll be ashes before you can capture your card."

Grinning cheerfully, Duo smirked. "I already have a card in mind, Mr. I'm-too-much-of-an-expert-to-listen. And I will be able to get out of here in no time. How about you?"

"I can fly out. The cards know I'm the guardian, and as long as I don't help you get out, Maze will let me out of its labyrinth."

"I hate those rules. Where do they come from anyway?"

"Clow Reed. The magicians add their own rules to the books."

"What a bummer." Duo rolled his eyes. "Get going. I know what card I'm going to use. And it'll leave you thinking about why you never thought of it."

"You got an ego the size of the world," called Kero as he floated up and out of sight. "Good luck! Remember, I get bored easy! Don't take more than an hour."

Duo watched as the yellow beast vanished. He smiled and then sighed. "I hope this one works," the pilot muttered, yanking out a pink and white card. He tossed it up in the air.

"Through Card!"

An odd, displaced feeling shivered up his fingertips and snaked up his arm, spreading through his body. Duo frowned and flexed his fingers. His body emanated a pale white light, flowing with magic. He smiled, took a deep breath, and plunged through the nearest wall. The feeling of passing through a solid was strange, like pushing into a huge glob of Jell-O. The walls seemed to ooze onto him until he emerged unscathed on the other side. Duo blinked.

"That felt really, really _unusual,_" he said to the wall.

Just then some OZ soldiers that were investigating the queer maze that had popped up around the base turned a corner. Duo looked at them, a deer caught in the headlights. While halfway in the process of drawing his gun, one of the OZ soldiers came to his senses and fired.

And, surprisingly enough, the bullet never hit its mark. Instead, it passed right_ through_ him. Duo looked down at his stomach where the bullet should have been lodged. Then he remembered the effects of the Through card.

"Oh-my-God—"

The rifle that the OZ soldier had been holding clattered to the ground noisily. His mouth was working, yet no sound seemed to come out of it. All the other soldiers were staring, stunned. Duo suddenly grinned, and jumped to the next wall, passing through again. He could hear the distinct yell on the other side. One scream, however, provoked his maniacal laughing.

"GHOST!!!"

He was guffawing like a hyena now, but he didn't care; Duo knew that they could hear his laughter, and it would only scare them even more. Yells and shouts came from the other side. Coughing up a last few snickers, he threw himself into the next wall, and waded through a series of maze walls before emerging from a vacant end. He was out of the maze.

_Okay, now that I got out of the maze, when I capture the card, would the OZ soldiers just vanish or would they be out? Maybe it'll be safer if I kept the Through card in my body......Eck, wait till they see a ghost flying around on a pink staff....That **is** kinda scary._

"Maze Card, return to your power confined!"

Above the star and circle of the staff a rectangle appeared, slowly sucking in the walls of the maze. Duo could feel the magic; it was no longer new to him. It was a sixth sense, alert to magic, developed the past week. Smiling as the Maze card slid into his palm, Duo turned his attention to the OZ soldiers that had gotten lost in the maze. Obviously they could all see him now.....

"Come on, Kero,. I have to get back to the you-know-what! Fly card!" Straddling the staff, he pushed off and dipped off the edge of the plateau, not waiting to see if the guardian beast had followed him. Kero caught up a few seconds later.

"You used the Through card?" he asked, stupefied. "Why didn't I think of that?"

Duo gave him a pointed look that said, "I told you so!" Kero scowled.

"The card is cool. I got shot and the bullet went right through." Duo tapped his chin thoughtfully. "That just might help on some infiltrating missions......" Without landing on the ground Duo swooped over to the cockpit of his Gundam, landing inside and buckling the restraints on so fast that Kero barely had time to get in before the hatch closed.

"Okay, now that the card is gone, I can get this part of the mission finished."

"You mean blowing up the base."

Duo sighed in resignation. "Yeah."

~*~*~*~

"Is it just me, or are those guards all asleep?"

The grounds around the second base was littered with bodies. But there was no blood, and Duo had the distinct feeling that they weren't all dead. He was right when he approached; the two guards at the front gate were snoring loud enough to wake up the whole of China. Duo looked up blankly at the quiet place. Kero flew in, followed by the American, whom had waltzed in through the gate like he was welcome to the place. Duo smirked at the thought.

"Is this another card?" he asked apprehensively.

"Probably the Sleep.....You've got to be keen to find that one. Sleep looks like a blue fairy, and is the size of one too. She just might put you to sleep if you're not careful." It was the first time Kero had spoken since the destruction of the last base, having sat quietly in thought for the whole trip while Duo babbled. Duo knew what was going through the guardian beast's mind. The normally jubilant tone of Kero's had dropped dangerously low.

"Okay.....So Sleep could have easily escaped by now, couldn't she?"

"Try to locate the card using your senses."

"All right then," Duo replied sunnily. He closed his eyes, fist unconsciously tightening its hold on the pink staff. The darkness surrounded him, not cold but not inviting either. The pilot's brain suddenly rang bells, clanging loudly as a strong presence entered his mental radar for magic. His eyes flicked open. "She's in the factory." Taking off, Duo ran for the one gloomy building he felt the surge of power from.

Reluctantly, Kero followed Duo, though at a slower pace, just enough to keep the Gundam pilot in his sights. _He was laughing while he destroyed that place....Like a killer who was satisfied. Could he be trusted with the cards? Am I choosing the wrong one? Were the cards choosing the wrong one? He seems so different in that machine of his.......What if he uses the cards for the wrong purpose?_

As Duo sprinted down the corridors following his magical sense, he was aware of Kero's reluctance. _He's seen me in battle with my Gundam.....Surprising that he's not running away from Death right now......What is he thinking about me? Is he regretting his decision of making me a Card Captor?_

With a burst of speed from this thought, Duo spotted the small blue figure of a winged creature hovering over a sleeping man. Shiny blue particles of dust rained down on the man. The fairy giggled, flying away, sparkles trailing after her. The American stared, shook his head, and pounded down the hall. He was careful to avoid stepping on the various guards and workers lying about, though he did hesitate to unload a gun once in a while. If they should wake up, he didn't want to be facing a dozen loaded weapons. He set his mind only on finding and capturing Sleep. Duo found the small blue figure up ahead.

_No more depressing thoughts......_

"Wood!"

_Must concentrate......Kero is counting on you to capture the cards, right?_

The summoned card danced out of her confinement, vines and plants streaking out to cage the tiny Sleep. Not quick enough, the card was enclosed in a globe of greens, held within. Duo raised the staff, face taking on a determined expression.

_Right......_

"Sleep Card! Return to your power confined!"

_He'll leave.....Like the rest of them....._

The vines disappeared, leaving no trace of their existence in the hall. Duo stared at the single rectangle that floated in the air, removing his staff and watching it shimmer. Two cards dropped to the ground, one the Wood, the other the Sleep. He bent down and picked them up, staring at them for a long moment.

_Maybe—just maybe—I can prove that I can be a good Card Captor._

"You caught it?"

Flying up behind him, Kero peered over Duo's shoulder. The American pilot looked behind him at the guardian beast.

"Yeah."

_Is he going to blow this place up too? _wondered Kero. Bitterly he remembered that it was the teenager's job. His mission.

"Maybe I should just let them sleep....maybe it won't be as painful," said Duo quietly. He turned around and walked back down the hall he came from. He left Kero staring and thinking.

_He actually cares? Why is he killing if he cares? He's doing all the wrong things. He shouldn't be a soldier. Heck, he's only fifteen. He's a kid. But why? What is worth so much that he has to kill and destroy for? It can't just be his job. There has to be something he is fighting for._ Kero blinked, small black eyes focused on Duo's back. The teen was apparently now singing, dancing his way down the hall. _There is so little I know.....And yet I named him Card Captor......I should give him a chance. He looks like he needs one......._

"Duo!"

The American whirled around, staff up and ready to whack someone. Kero smiled.

"Wait up!"

~*~*~*~

"This is great. I've been through a maze, and trampled through a sleeping building, and now I'm up against a base the size of a dollhouse???"

Duo stared at the sixteen square meters of space that the buildings of the third set of coordinates occupied. He stared.

"All it takes is one of my grenades to destroy the whole place," he muttered. "Not to mention the soldiers are as tall as Barbie."

"Don't demolish it yet," Kero said patiently. "If you destroy it now, the card might get away. After all, the fumes of magic around here are pretty strong."

"You can smell them?" asked Duo teasingly. "I thought you could only smell food."

Kero scowled. "Stupid baka."

"Yada yada yada, I know. I am an idiot. Big deal." Duo smirked. "Besides, I—whoa!" He walked around the perimeter of the tiny fence, peering around the buildings. He gawked at something for a second and then turned back to Kero.

"There's a little girl playing dollies with the workers," he whispered. "And boy has she no dress sense......"

"There is no need to whisper and you know it, Duo. Now, let's see that little girl of yours." Kero flew around Duo and glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, that little girl? It's Little, you know. Looks cute, doesn't she?" Nodding, Kero pointed at the girl, who was now giggling at the struggling OZ soldiers she held in her hands.

"Very cute. And she's shrinking that guy until he's the size of a bug," commented Duo. Kero gave him a look. The American smirked in return.

Suddenly, they heard a series of high-pitched squeaks coming from the buildings.

"THE GUNDAM DEATHSCYTHE!!!"

"IT'S HUMONGOUS!!!"

"ALERT TREIZE KHUSHRENADA!!!"

"HOW CAN THE REBELS BUILD SOMETHING SO BIG???"

Yells, all piercing their ears, ensued. Duo sighed and raked a hand through his bangs.

"And I haven't even used the Big card yet.....They don't seem to realize that it's them who has shrunk, not the Gundam that had grown big." 

"Don't have an ounce of common sense."

"Right." Duo shot a quick look at Kero. "So if I capture the Little card, then everything returns to normal?"

"Yes," the guardian beast replied. "I think you should move out of range first. Get Little to move away from the buildings, then capture it, and let the place return to its normal size. Then.....complete another part of your mission." Both looked away at the words, but Duo knew it was true. He would have to decimate this base as well. Shaking away the thoughts, Duo broke out into one of his cheery grins.

"Get Little to move away. Does she have anything of particular interest? Considering the fun she seems to be having shrinking Ozzies, I think we need something that would really captivate her attention. And going near is not an option of mine. I do not want to be able to even see molecules, much less say become the size of one."

"You have the Big card. It'll help." Kero smiled maliciously. 

"How?" The American pilot sighed. "How come I get the feeling I'll become chibi really soon........?"

Kero began to push him towards Little, who was still giggling as yet another Ozzie was shrunk to the size of an ant. Now she had her own little army of Ozzie soldiers, ant-size. Some were firing useless bullets at her, so small they bounced off her clothes harmlessly.

"Oh wow," muttered Duo. "Bullets must be so small....No doubt they feel like piercing needles now. OW!" He spun around to face several minuscule guns out from the windows of the buildings, firing at him. "Shit." Duo took off, speeding towards the Little card. He reached down and scooped her up while continuously running away from the building at the same time, staff held in the other hand. Kero flew up next to the braided pilot, arms waving in frantic gestures, mouth working furiously.

"What the HECK do you think you're doing? You're exposing yourself to the risk of Little's magic, and for no reason at all you abandon me to handle a mob of Lilliputians1 alone, all shooting at me, and all you can do is—"

"Don't ask, Kero, if those bullets grow big when they're in my skin, I'm in big trouble." Duo, now safely shielded by the foot of his Gundam, sighed. He set Little down on the ground, exhaling. The card looked up at him curiously, head tilted to the side. Her mouth stretched into a smile.

_Card Captor......_

"Little?" Duo stepped away awkwardly, putting some distance between him and the card. She smiled jubilantly back at him, beaming. The odd hat on her head tipped a bit, slanting over her left eye. Little nodded, ignoring her covered eye. A look of understanding passed through the violet orbs. Duo stepped further back and raised the pink staff.

"Return to your power confined! Little Card!"

Right after Little was sealed in her card, however, a loud rumble erupted from the direction of the OZ base. Duo's eyes bugged out as he realized that the buildings and people were returning to normal size. The place now loomed over him, casting a shadow out over his Gundam's feet. He swore as he grabbed hold of the foot cable and virtually shot into his cockpit. Kero, now accustomed to Duo's unnatural speed, zipped in swiftly after the pilot. He was eerily silent again, eyes averted. The guardian beast had seen enough carnage.

"Let's just hope that I can bang this thing in time and get away without meeting whomever they've called to face 'The Titanic Gundam.' " Duo chuckled. "I wonder if I should just use the Big card. All I would have to do is just stomp on them....." He trailed off, remembering that Kero was still in the cockpit. The yellow creature was scrunched up in a respective corner, arms folded. The Gundam fell into silence once more, the absence of the normal chatter unsettling.

Pressing his lips together tightly, Duo focused on the demolition of the base. His scythe ripped through walls and penetrated the stories, making them crumble upon one another. Through the explosions not a single word was uttered between them; not even a cheer or yell of triumph from Duo as he watched the rest of the buildings go up in smoke. Kero had closed his eyes, refusing to even look at the view screens of Deathscythe. He didn't even care when an odd jolt shuddered through the giant metal machine.

Duo cursed mentally, screaming his ass off in his head. He knew sooner or later his mouth would slip and he would start cussing like crazy, but that would only serve to astound Kero even more. They had called for help, obviously, and now he was facing Leos that were not expected. Damn.

Surprisingly enough, during the battle it was Kero who broke the silence first.

"Could stop making those jerky, crazy motions with your Gundam already?" he snapped irritably. His eyes opened and he glared at the American pilot, who was wrestling with the controls, eyes focused on the screens. All his inner restraints broke the moment Kero spoke.

"Do you even know what I am doing?" Duo yelled back. "We're being attacked by a group of Leos! I'm not the only one with a goddamn machine here, Kero! They're fighting me! So you shouldn't complain about stupid little bumps in my cockpit when Deathscythe is getting bombarded!"

"Pardon me?" shouted Kero. "You're not even supposed to _be_ here on the battlefield! Why are you fighting this war if you shouldn't?! Why is it so important that you must destroy and kill???"

A loud bang outside interrupted their spat. Duo's eyes widened. He waited for the impact of an attack. Kero flew up in the little space that was over Duo's head, finally taking a good look at the computer screens that surrounded them. He glimpsed the mobile suits. They looked different from Deathscythe, but he knew, that all the same, it was a mechanical monster also controlled by human pilots.

_They want to kill Duo as much as he them,_ Kero realized. _Humans pitted against one another because of conflicts. This is war? Is this all what they are fighting for? Is this why lives are ruined?_

Both braced themselves for the shock that would come, but none did. Duo gasped a shiver ran up his spine. Kero glanced around the now glowing cockpit.

"A Sakura Card," he whispered. "Shield is protecting us."

Duo gaped at his controls, which were also illuminated with light. The moment of shock passed over and he set his mouth in a grim line. "All right then, Kero, I can see this kinda transparent globe surrounding us. Does Shield allow anything go outside? Say, a beam scythe maybe? Either I sacrifice the protection and just jump right out or the beam scythe would have to work. There's about ten Leos left anyway. Scratch that, seven."

"Stop babbling to yourself." Kero set aside his confused mass of thoughts. "Shield is protecting the Gundam for a reason, you know. The card is intelligent. Maybe something can go out. Try your beam scythe. Do not blame me if it doesn't work. I'm not acquainted with technology."

"Then why do you even bother playing video games?" cried Duo. He clamped his teeth together, hoped for the best, and eased the scythe towards Shield. The two occupants of the cockpit waited with bated breath.

Nothing exploded. Nothing bounced back. Except—the shield had only grew bigger to fit the scythe's blade within it.

"Damn! Now what? My Gundam was made for close-up combat! Shit, and all this stuff is so fucked up—"

"Gods, your language is AWFUL!" Kero glared at the L2 pilot. "Can't you do something with that machine of yours?"

"It's the cards that got me in this mess anyway!" Duo yelled. "And you know what? Now that I can't battle, we're goddamn stuck here! You and your cards—like my life isn't complicated enough as it is!"

"At least Shield is attempting to protect you! It's your job, your fault you opened the book—be a man and take some responsibility!" Kero was red with rage.

"Excuse me?" Duo shot back. "Who is the one unable to even look at war in the face? Be a man—you're being an ass! Now we're fucking stuck, with nowhere to go, and I still have to capture your stupid cards. Are you fucking happy??? I never said I wanted to be a Card Captor! You just pushed the responsibilities on me! I hate you, Kero, you don't even understand me and yet you have already passed judgment on who I am!"

Silence filled the cramped space as Kero registered the American's words. Duo himself was surprised at his own audacity, but chose to hide his shock and instead turned to his main view screen. Suddenly, he realized he didn't have to fight at all. The suits obviously thought Shield was some kind of new technology, and was continuously shooting. However, their attacks bounced off and instead hit other suits. They were slowly wearing down their own machines and also each other, but obviously too fixated on Deathscythe to notice that they were destroying themselves. Deciding that they had time before the Leo pilots figured out that the Shield wasn't normal, Duo released his tight grip on the controls and raised his violet eyes to Kero, whose back was facing him.

"Kero.....I'm sorry about what I said. I.....kinda exploded because of my irritation. But you have to admit, you don't understand what is going on in this war. After my mission is complete....." The American trailed off, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "After my mission is complete, I'll tell you. I'll answer your questions. I understand that in order for this thing to work we have know each other better."

The cockpit was silent again. Then, Duo realized that the Leos were tackling Shield, damaging themselves even further. He thought over the card as a plan mapped itself out in his mind.

_Hope this works,_ Duo thought, grasping the controls again. He moved quickly, timing his strikes. Shield needed time to extend its protection, so his scythe managed decimate the remaining suits that clashed with the shield, when they were close enough. The Leos were all gone. Kero had returned to his corner. Duo sighed, unbuckled the harness, shoved aside the screen, and opened the cockpit hatch. He stepped out observing the sphere that enveloped Deathscythe in a pale white shine. Duo had left the staff on the seat. As he was about to turn to get it, however, a blinding light blasted from the card.

Raising his arms to shield his eyes, Duo blinked several times to readjust his eyes to the broad daylight that seemed so dim. And floating in the air in front of him was a pink and white card, labeled "The Shield". The American, astonished, reached out and let the card drop into his hand. He stared at it, stunned. Kero watched from the shadows of the cockpit.

_An intelligent card sealed itself for him.....Protected him.....Is there something I don't know? Is there a connection between him and the cards? _Kero puzzled over his thoughts. Then, one thought surfaced, clearly in Kero's mind. The cards chose Duo. He didn't. He never chose the Gundam pilot to be Card Captor. And from previous experience, he knew that he could believe that the cards would not choose wrong.

Or could they?

~*~*~*~

"Can you just tell me why I am on the verge of being electrocuted by a cloud?"

"It's the Thunder card, baka."

"Why do the cards always have to pop up on the bases that I have to destroy?"

_Because of fate,_ Kero said to himself, remaining silent to Duo's question. The American was too busy dodging the bolts of electricity striking the concrete beneath them. Having used the Sleep card earlier to cast the base into oblivion, Duo faced the black thundercloud on the roof of the tallest base building.

"So what am I supposed to do anyway?"

"Change it into its true form, Raiju, and then overpower it and capture it."

"Give me an idea, dude—how do I change it into its true form?" Duo yanked out a card as he spoke. "Jump!" In a blast he was off in the air, leaping to the other side of the building's roof. Rocking on his left heel, Duo stomped on his right foot and leapt for the next building, barely avoiding a nasty shock. The electricity left a dark scorch mark on the roof. Duo cast a look over his shoulder before landing neatly. "Kuso."

"Syaoran used a spell," replied Kero flatly, flying up to eye level.

"Grand," Duo said dryly. "And let's see......Do I look like I know any spells???"

"No," retorted the guardian beast. The American glared at him.

"You didn't need to answer that."

"You asked a _question_, Duo, don't you expect someone to answer it? If you don't, then don't ask questions."

"Omae o korosu, Kero. This is injustice. You don't have to act so cold towards me." Duo hopped a short distance and decided to risk it and jumped off the structure, burying the heels of his boots into the soft dirt ground when he landed. "Kero, we have to work _together_. I know you don't like what I do for a living but at least put up with me until I can explain why I'm a Gundam pilot."

For a moment the yellow beast stared at Duo, expression unreadable. Duo waited, standing still for an answer. Then a particularly large bolt zipped down from the skies, heading straight for the Gundam pilot.

"Shield!" Barely managing to deflect the bolt, Duo glanced at Kero. "We definitely have to settle this later." His blue-violet eyes traveled back to the center of the thundercloud. The gears in his head whirled, working furiously to come up with a good idea. One snapped into place, and the American reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. "Hope this works," he muttered. "Watery!"

From the card a huge jet of water issued forth, arcing upward and heading straight for the center of the black mass. Duo held his breath as Watery's figure emerged from the jet for just a moment, before molding back into a bullet like water shape. The jet hit bull's eye, absorbing the sparks of electricity shot at it. The whole column of liquid seemed to crackle with shocking life, sparks dancing around it. A huge explosion erupted from the clouds. Duo sweatdropped.

"That seemed like a good idea," the American mumbled. "I didn't know that it would explode. I mean, water conducts electricity, right? Unless Watery hit something really big and absorbed too much, I doubt it would explode. But then again, we're talking about magic here. Is there something I need to know? I got a D in Science...."

"I think something is falling out of the clouds," Kero commented. Duo looked up, blinking. The dark clouds, somehow, was only crowded in the area over the factory. And, indeed, something was falling out from the center, a bright figure followed by a fanned out spread of water. Quickly Duo ran around the closest building towards the two figures, both of which crashed into the ground, raising clouds of dust. The pilot fanned the dirt away from his face, coughing. As the smoky grit cleared up, Kero and Duo could see a filmy shimmering ball. Encased inside was a roaring beast, body crackling with lightening.

"Raiju," Kero murmured. Duo stared at him, and then the two cards. _Watery is trapping Thunder_, noted the American._ Might as well capture the card before it escapes._

"Thunder Card! I command you to return to your card confined!"

The two cards, Watery and Thunder, landed at his feet, displaying the pictures of their forms. Duo picked them up, examining the newest card he caught. His mouth molded itself into his grin.

"This doesn't look like a dog that Quatre would want....."

_He's still cheerful? After all this? Can't Duo be serious? _Kero frowned as he stared at the L2 pilot. _What if the cards are choosing wrong? Duo can't possibly use the cards for evil, can he? But he's a soldier. He can use the cards in war. He can kill hundreds....._

Immediately Duo's smile fell again as he remembered his mission. Kero, still somber, followed the pilot back to Deathscythe, not saying a word. The uneasy silence reigned over them, making Duo altogether even more uncomfortable. He sighed, sighting his Gundam, and began to run towards it.

And tripped.

Twisting to avoid falling flat on his face, Duo "oofed" when he landed on his back, letting out a breath of air. "What the hell—" Jumping up, the American realized that his back was facing his Gundam. He frowned. Wasn't he walking_ towards_ his Deathscythe? What was he doing facing the other direction?

"Uh, Kero?"

The guardian beast scowled. He looked around, and then flew past Duo. However, Kero ended facing_ away_ from Deathscythe as well. The American, having stood up now, glanced at Kero. Both had identical blank expressions. A smirk crossed onto Duo's face.

"Another card? That fast? They sure do pop up quite quickly, don't they? At this rate I could capture all the cards in one week." Duo absently toyed with the staff in his right hand. He stared at it and mentally resolved to try and somehow get the pink staff black. It was a disturbing color.

"Don't be so cocky," reprimanded Kero. "Just because they're everywhere today doesn't mean they come up like this every day."

"All right, I get your point. Any clue as to what this, 'reverse direction' card is? It's blocking the way to my Gundam, and I don't like that." Duo fiddled with his braid in his empty hand. "It's just repeating everything. I can tell by our surroundings. The sky and clouds are oddly symmetrical, and that is spooky. Clouds are never symmetrical."

Kero looked up at the sky above them and realized the American was right. The white shapes were unreal. Scowling deeper, the guardian beast flew to the side to see if he could go around the card. And he ended right up where he started. Duo snorted, trying to hold in his laughter as Kero's face turned a deep red. The yellow beast glared at the American, whom only grinned even wider and winked.

"No need to get agitated over such a tiny thing, Kero." Duo blinked several times, staring at the ground that seemed to shift each time he passed over it. _Let's see.....What cards didn't I capture yet? Was there even a list? There's the Create, but Kero said it comes in the form of a book, so I don't think that this is it. Illusion? Nah, that card Kero said makes people see things, and we're just walking around in loopy circles.....Loop???_

"Kero! The Loop—what does that card do?"

The magical beast stared at Duo. "The Loop? It repeats things and makes the directions seem like circles....." He trailed off when he realized what he was saying. The American pilot smiled brightly.

"All right then.....Time to cut things loose, I guess. Sword Card!" Duo stared in awe at the sparkling double-edged sword in his hand. Slashing the air once, he could hear the whistle of the blade. The pilot grinned. "Hell yeah. I bet this is ten times better than Wufei's katana. Let's see him try to cut my braid off again!" Restraining himself from his maniacal cackling, Duo whipped the sword up and closed his eyes.

_Concentrate. Relax, and meditate. Geez, I'm starting to rhyme. Okay, focus. I even babble in my thoughts....._Shaking his head clear, Duo could see through his mind's eye. A thin, unclear shape took form in the darkness around him. He saw a ribbon. Without waiting, the pilot cut through it, breaking the tie. Duo's eyes snapped open. Ripples of power flew from the ground where he had plowed his sword through. With a flash the dimmed even sunlight, a semi-transparent red wall materialized in front of him. His eyes widened and Duo drew away as the wall exploded, its magical effect vanishing. Backing up, Duo watched as a gathering of glowing red pieces swirled together to make one card: The Loop.

"Wow. This card made my head spin. Wonder what it could do on missions....."

Suddenly Duo was very aware that Kero looked oddly worried each time he mentioned the abilities of a card on missions or on the battlefield. He realized that the guardian beast was troubled by the thought that Duo would do something evil with the cards. The pilot snorted. Not likely. Unless you counted pranking your fellow pilots evil.

_He **is** the guardian of the book, I guess. Kero has a right to worry. But I just wish he wouldn't act so cold just because he thinks so.....I'm not sure if he is going to trust me after I tell him though. What if he doesn't? He's going to leave, just like everyone close to does. He's going to find another Card Captor. Not that I want the job, but they provide some kind of companionship that I like. I'd hate to see the cards mistreated. But what choice do I have in the matter? I was never given choices. Well, not often anyway....._

~*~*~*~

"This is the last base," Duo said. Both were very quiet for the ride, despite the fact that both were talkative freaks. Neither wanted to start a conversation, both buried in their thoughts. It was the longest time that Duo was ever silent.

The base had no Sakura card lying in wait. Both sensed nothing, and double-checked before Duo attacked.

Images of the battle flashed on the three view screens, illuminating the cockpit. Since Duo wasn't rushing, he was oddly slower in his movements, perhaps due to the fact that he was thinking about how to explain to Kero about his job as a Gundam pilot. Therefore, the whole thing resulted in another unwanted fight with another group of Leos. Duo demolished them easily, leaving nothing but scattered metal and rubble on the ground, yet another base destroyed. Everything had been plowed through, unlike his normal self, who preferred leaving off with a multitude of explosions. After checking to make sure nothing was left, he landed his Gundam in the middle of the carnage, in spite of the fact that he could easily by spotted and caught, and climbed out of Deathscythe.

Hearing the broken buildings crunch under his boots, Duo surveyed his work from his position on the ground. Dust had began to blow up from the ruins, surrounding the area with a translucent fog. Kero flew down with the pilot, settling on a jagged piece of concrete sticking out of the remains. Silence engulfed them, and for a while both did not talk.

Finally, Duo spoke.

"Kero, I told you that you shouldn't have come along in my Gundam at the beginning of this day, didn't I?" His tone was not cheerful, not nasal, nor monotonous, but held a sad, wistful note to it. Kero looked up, staring at the teenager standing before him. Suddenly, the American didn't seem like a killer anymore. He saw a young child in the place of the murderer of hundreds.

"Earlier I said I work as a Gundam pilot as a living. That is only partly true. I am also a Gundam pilot for something else, Kero. Take a look at the death and destruction around you," Duo intoned, sweeping an arm in a semi-circle. "I made this. But why, you ask. Why do I destroy and kill? Why do I fight even if I am too young to belong on the battlefield? I'll tell you why, Keroberos. I'll tell you why.

"I fight so that others won't have to fight. So others won't have to kill in my place. I suffer so that others would not have to. You think I _like_ killing? You think I _want_ to do this? I have nightmares, Kero. Nightmares of the people I've killed, the soldiers that died at my bloodstained hands in duty. I can hear their screams before they die, their screams of agony. Do you think I want to tear men away from their families? No, I don't. But I'm doing it so that I can help the colonies gain their freedom. I'm killing so that others can have peace. Peace, Kero, you know how glorious it sounds? Yet it is so hard to attain. It is what I am fighting for, Kero. It's the one thing I hope someday that can be achieved. This isn't just killing for the purpose of a mission. I hate having to kill. I hide it all, the grief, the pain—all of it is under my joker's mask, the one thing that keeps me sane.

"I pilot a Gundam—one of the most dangerous mechanical machines that ever existed. I'm too young—you yourself called me a fifteen year-old with no place in the war. But I'm hardly a kid. I have a place in the war—because of what I've already done. I chose to become a Gundam pilot, Kero. I chose this path to keep someone else from having to go through it. I was once a street rat; I've seen the damage that a war can do to economy. No matter how small or big my part is, I have to try. More people are going to die if we don't stand up now." Duo reached up and brushed away the long bangs. Kero listened, mesmerized by the loud, clear voice.

"I don't deny the fact that I kill. But you can't say I kill for no reason. I shoulder the blame for hundreds of deaths. You have never been through what I've been through. You have never seen what I have seen. You have never experienced what I have, and you won't understand how important it is for me to fight. I'm an orphan, Kero. I have no my parents because of this war. Other children of the future can be spared the pain of my life if this war would end. And I would help end it. Even if it means killing and having nightmares and sacrificing many of the things that a teenager my age should have." The violet eyes settled on the guardian beast. The weight of those eyes, so full of wisdom and yet so youthful, made Kero feel like he was the one two thousand years younger.

For what seemed like a long time, neither ventured to say anything. An understanding had come between them, and no words were needed. The sky was darkening to a reddish orange hue, signaling the end of the day. Duo turned back to his Gundam.

"I've thought about it a lot, Kero, and I can tell you one thing. I promise that I won't use the cards for battle. I'll use them only on emergencies during missions. But I won't destroy or kill with the cards, Kero, I can promise you that. And I can run, I can hide, but I don't lie. And promises to my friends mean a lot to me." Duo flashed the guardian beast a smile. "Come on, Kero. I have to go to Howard's to get him to fix whatever damage was done to Deathscythe. And people will be showing up here soon. We might get caught.....So move your lazy ass!"

"Move my lazy ass?" Kero was astounded at the profane language. "I am NOT lazy, baka!" He shot up and glared at Duo in the eyes. "And who do you think you are to tell me that? I am the Guardian Beast of the Sakura Book—"

"I know who you are," interrupted Duo, grin spreading across his face as he climbed into the cockpit. Sitting there for a moment, he looked up as the hatch closed behind Kero.

"Me? I'm just Card Captor Death."

~*~*~*~

Number of cards left to be captured - 18  
Cards captured in this chapter - Maze, Sleep, Little, Shield, Thunder, Loop

1) Lilliputians - I _think_ this is how you spell it. For people who don't know, it's from the book _Gulliver's Travels_, where there is a place filled with tiny people called Lilliputians. I read a lot, but my memory is starting to fail me and I'm not even old.

Allow me to clarify a few things.

First of all, I think I got very sloppy while writing this chapter. I mean, how can Duo attack five bases in one day, alone, and without coming out with some kind of injury? I wasn't thinking about that until I was nearly at the end, and by that time I was really lazy. Now, come to think of it when I wrote those three paragraphs of Duo's little speech I was reading humor fics online at the same time.

I'm insane.

I think it's some kind of advantage to being a Card Captor. Sakura got precious few bruises, come to think of it. Even in the Final Judgment when Yue kind of threw her around, she wasn't exactly hurt. I'll tack that to Duo.

If I made Kero somewhat OOC, consider it the fact that I was thinking of how someone would react to seeing someone they thought they knew destroy human lives. I think that Kero doesn't yet understand what war is until he truly sees it, and hear the story of a soldier. And Duo hasn't told anyone a good deal of things about himself, so I did my best to avoid mentioning things that Duo would not like to mention in his talks.

I'm not sure if the cards work in the ways I described. In a way, I like to think of inventive ways that the cards could change themselves or how the user can change their uses.

One more thing: Screw the timeline.


	6. The Mysterious Girl

I was on vacation and actually lasted three days and three nights without a computer! And when I got back I found out my computer was screwed so I actually lasted a week without internet. That was the sad part. I'm now on my sister's comp typing this and she's annoyed that I'm using _her_ computer, which she didn't even pay for. I couldn't get online because I didn't know her password. Fantastic world, isn't it?

Anyway, I decided since I had time, to run spell check through all of my documents and I was terrified by my own typos. Corrections were made. 

This chapter.....I'm not really thrilled with it. But who can blame me? Aside from being a pessimist, I'm also a freak about grammar. And after riding on three different roller coasters and four different water rides (I rode one twice, and walked around soaked to the skin) and a bumper car ride (there were other things I rode, but I just forgot what they were called) as well as walking and waiting in line until my feet were ready to fall off, I admit that sitting in a car for over twenty-four hours in a period of three days isn't exactly the material for a great chapter. I've also been chilled to death by the A.C. and sweating to hell over the hot weather outdoors, coming home with a two-day headache. Then I found out my mouse was broken and it really pushed me over the edge.

All in all, I managed to complete it.

One more thing: the spell check asked me if I wanted to change "Wufei" to "Wife". I wonder.....

Chapter VI - _The Mysterious Girl_

Duo rolled over in the bed, opening bleary eyes to face an yellow face entirely blocking his vision. Up close, Kero didn't look so kawaii anymore. Promptly the guardian beast opened his big mouth.

"WAKE UP!!!"

Jumping away, Duo pulled out his gun from under the pillow and aimed it at the yellow creature.

"Didn't I tell you NEVER to do that again? Last time I almost shot you!"

Kero whipped his tail about impatiently. "I took the risk to wake you and this is what I get?!" he yelled. "Look at the time! You're going to be late!"

The American lowered his weapon and looked at the glowing green digits of the clock on the small desk of the room. His eyes bulged.

"Shit! Why didn't you wake me up earlier? I'm going to be late!" Practically throwing himself into the small bathroom connected to the single boarding room, Duo missed the wistful smile on Kero's face.

_Looks like some things don't change when it comes to Card Captors, _he thought, recalling Sakura's problems of being tardy. Kero sighed. "You got about ten minutes till it's 0830!" he called.

Duo rushed out, braiding his hair skillfully and with practice, and seemed to grab a series of books from the piles that surrounded his bed and desk. Kero sweatdropped.

"Are you sure those are the books you'll be needing?" the guardian beast asked.

"I take pride in having a messy room and knowing exactly where everything is," replied Duo hurriedly, as he began to remove mangas from a stack of clothes. "Gods, where is the damn uniform? I could swear I didn't bury it this far in my garbage." In the process the pilot pulled out from underneath the desk a pair of black rollerblades, with glow-in-the-dark white wheels. He brought it with OZ money soon after Kero suggested the idea after the base destroying mission two weeks ago. And the pilot had treated the rollerblades like they were his babies.

The current mission he was on involved the other four pilots. The scientists had received information that OZ had been training intelligent youths to become assassins and spies. Many of which attend the outstanding Landew Academy.

Which was why he was here now.

Finally finding the white shirt and tie that were a part of his uniform, Duo yanked off the oversized T-shirt and discarded it in some random corner. Dressing while checking his bag, the American pulled out one pair of fresh, wrinkled socks from his pillow and removed his shoes from the desk drawer he flung them into yesterday. He scowled at the buckles and shiny black leather. The fancy shoes seriously pinched his toes. Sighing, he hastily pulled up his socks and kicked away a stack of magazines, which happened to be on top of his black trousers. Duo scowled, dumping the shoes into the bulging black bag and zipped it up. Without hesitation he dressed and pulled on the black rollerblades, clipping the straps in place.

"Kero, just remember not to let anyone see you when you sneak off to the kitchen, okay?"

"Okay.....Hey, wait, how did you know about that?"

"You're always hungry, and besides in the last two weeks, no matter where you were, you always stole off to the kitchen for more food." Duo slung the bag over one shoulder, using the other hand to open the door to his room. The pilot gave him a pointed look before closing the door behind him. 

Kero sighed again. _How does he manage to dress in wrinkled clothes and not make them look wrinkled?_

Duo, on the other hand, was checking his watch (also black) and noted dully that there were three minutes and fifty-one seconds before the bell rang. And he had to reach the building on the other side. _I have such good luck, don't I? _Duo thought, skating down the hall. He gathered more speed as he went, and no one blocked his path. When he reached the stairs, Duo hopped up on the rail and proceeded to slide down, ignoring the looks from other students as he flew out into the lobby. He just grinned at them, waving hellos to several people he recognized.

A boy walking in through the front doors spotted the whirlwind speeding for him and quickly jumped aside, holding the door open also. Duo barely succeeded in yelling a "Thank you!" over his shoulder before concentrating on reaching his first class: History.

If it were any other teacher, Duo wouldn't have cared as much. But he had seen what Mrs. Dingle did to late students. A fifteen minute lecture on rules and time and being late, and then she would give you detention for two weeks and make you stay after class to make you late for the next class.

No way was he going to do that. Duo sped straight towards the building his class was in, checking the time again. Two minutes thirty-six seconds. Inwardly the American groaned. He missed breakfast! An empty stomach till lunch was not an appealing idea.

"I'm fifteen, a Gundam pilot and a Card Captor, and I _still_ have to go to school," grumbled the teen. His wheels continued to go, making little to no noise. Halfway through he was staring at his watch, watching the seconds tick by. Duo paid little attention to where he was going.

Two minutes nine seconds.

"Kuso." Shifting his feet and pushing some more to pick up more speed, Duo smiled apologetically at his fellow peers as he weaved through the students that didn't have first period class.

_Damn, I start second period and I still sleep in late. I should really stop being nocturnal and be more punctual._

Duo avoided a large jock, narrowly missing the bigger teen. Just as he did, however, another passing boy dropped his textbook and binder at the shock of seeing him fly by.

"Sorry, man!" the American pilot called over his shoulder. Duo whizzed by some girls who opened the doors. "Thanks!"

Skidding to a stop by the stairs, Duo scowled. His class was on the seventh floor. Huffing, he rolled over to an elevator and slid in just before the doors closed. Banging on the seventh button, he grinned at the two girls in the elevator, one of whom smiled back and one of whom was staring at his black rollerblades.

The one who had smiled back had long, waist-length hair the same color of his. A small braid was tucked out front over one shoulder, while shorter locks framed her angular face. The rest of her hair tumbled down her back in straight strands. Twinkling hazel eyes looked out at him from long bangs. Duo frowned inwardly. She was definitely taller than him. But something felt out of place. Duo cocked his head, assuming a casual position, and stuck out his hand.

"I'm Duo Maxwell," he said casually, smiling cheerfully. "Call me Duo. And you are?"

Smiling again, the girl took his hand and gave it a firm shake. "Nakuru Akizuki, Duo. Or the other way around, considering that it's a Japanese name."

A tingle spread up Duo's arm after he released her hand. Nakuru Akizuki. He remembered now. She was one of the people they had to investigate for the mission. But something didn't seem right still. He turned to face the opposite wall in the elevator and closed his eyes, letting his mind wander for a moment. Then Duo ventured forth to see Nakuru with his magic. 

Power struck him like a blow to the face. It took all of his training to mask the inward struggle to get his mind straight again. Duo's eyes opened, staring forward into space. He shook himself and turned around, forcing a smile as the ring signaled the elevator reaching his floor.

"Gotta go, ladies." Skating out and leaving the mysterious girl behind, Duo checked his watch. One minute left. That felt like a billion years. One thing he knew was that Nakuru wasn't normal. She had magical powers, like he did. Did she know about her powers?

Thirty seconds and the first bell rang. Students were chatting in the corridor and basically making his life miserable by blocking his way. Duo sighed, and then zipped forward on his wheels, startling a group of cheerleaders.

He flew into the designated classroom just before the second bell rang. Duo dumped himself into the nearest empty desk, efficiently hiding his rollerblades with his bag. Unfortunately, Heero happened to be sitting behind him. The Perfect Soldier frowned, and then sat up to attention as the class began. Of course, there were some late ones.....

~*~*~*~

After lunch Duo's stomach felt pretty much contented, but he wasn't worrying about that. Heero had steadily been ignoring him for the whole day, without even a grunt or "Omae o korosu" to reply with. And not to mention the thoughts that constantly churned in his head about Nakuru Akizuki. 

_Make a mental note to ask Kero about it as soon as possible,_ he thought to himself. Duo scowled as he thought of his next class. _Of all classes that Heero could arrange, he had to choose drama, didn't he? It's not like he can even act. Always for the goddamn mission. What a bastard. Don't even know why I'm friends with him.....What the hell am I saying? If Heero considered me a friend, he wouldn't constantly punch me in the stomach. And friends don't call you an idiot, right? Much less say lovers....._

Silently Duo fumed as he entered the specified classroom, landing in a seat in front of Wufei. The Chinese pilot barely even glanced up before returning to his book. Trowa and Quatre were here also. Duo scowled darkly at Heero, who was seated at the desk to his left. Sighing, he leaned back in the uncomfortable chair and listened to snatches of conversation around the room.

"You know the drama teacher, Ms. Pierney? She's really strange, but cool."

"Yeah, I think that she's fashion crazy. Last year she did _West Side Story_ with AD1970's clothes. Queer, isn't she?"

"The year before that she did medieval clothing and Shakespeare."

"They say Pierney always skips a year between each Shakespeare play. Rumor has it she's doing on this year. She always does a play around this time of the school year."

"Why?"

"How should I know?"

"You know, yesterday we had a sub. Wonder what she was doing?"

"She was going to talk to Nakuru. Last year Nakuru Akizuki helped her produce the thing. It was one of the best plays I've ever seen. It wasn't even boring!"

"Nakuru is one of the most popular people in Landew Academy, Tina. No, she _is_ the most popular person in this school."

"They say she's really smart also. Too bad she isn't in drama this year. I heard somebody say she changed to computers."

Duo frowned. This girl could make their mission tough. If she was as smart as they say she is, she might be a challenge. With each thought Duo began to visualize the worst. He sighed. Some of her close friends were in this class. He recognized the girl who had stared at his rollerblades in the elevator. She was talking to Quatre.

Just then a tall woman walked in, her flaming red hair falling around her shoulders in waves. The lady looked extremely severe, maybe due to the fact that her lips were pulled into a thin line that proclaimed annoyance. Green eyes flashed with anger, and whether or not it was because she was in her classroom or if she was thinking about her students, Duo didn't want to know. Then the most amazing thing happened.

She smiled, her features softening and losing the impression of Une. In fact, she looked almost as pleasant as Relena—no, more pleasant than Relena. Duo stared. Only one other person could change and adapt so fast, and that person he knew had a split personality. Her smile was now even more congenial than Quatre's welcoming face.

"I apologize for being late.....For about fourteen seconds," she said, checking her watch. "Mr. Berger was pestering me again."

Several students stifled chuckles. The whole school knew that the teacher "Mr. Burger," was chasing female teachers, and was also enormously fat. His latest target, obviously, was Ms. Pierney.

"So there are some new students," she noted, going over the list that was on her untidy desk. "No problem. That isn't going to create any problems for the play this year. And, as I'm sure the rumors say, I am doing Shakespeare this year for the drama play." She paused, looking at the class before smiling maliciously, looking remarkably like a teenager. The class blinked back at her. Duo, though not looking at the Wing pilot, could feel Heero's scowl.

"Which one did you chose?" piped up a girl in the back hesitantly.

_By the look on her face, it's one of those romance/tragedies, _Duo thought. His eyes narrowed. _No, not that one—_

"_Romeo and Juliet_," the red-haired woman replied. A collective amount of groans came from the male population of the class. Now the teacher was positively glowing, a nefarious grin plastered on her face. "This is a prestigious school, filled with exceptional and brilliant students. Don't tell me that none of you here can act?"

Five particular people in the classroom shifted slightly in their seats.

"Of all the girly romances," Duo could hear Wufei mutter. He hastily stifled a chuckle. Heero was ready to peel paint off the walls with his intensifying death glare. Trowa was impassive, showing no outward signs of displeasure, while Quatre seemed to have brightened and the blonde actually smiled.

"The date of the performance is going to be in a month." Ms. Pierney opened the top drawer of her desk, taking out a pair of glasses and placing them on her nose.

_It's incredible how she manages to look like Une and Catherine at the same time, _Duo mused. Wufei looked like he was going to die of apoplexy.

"I am not going to do a sissy, romantic play!" he hissed through his teeth, barely heard.

Duo could not hold in his snort. Now Wufei's onyx eyes were shooting daggers at his back.

"And to be fair, I'm not going to hold auditions. I was never good at judging anyway. Picking parts out of a hat always makes things more....." She stopped, adjusting her glasses and smiling. "Interesting." Somewhere she managed to come up with a box filled with folded pieces of paper. Methodically she moved through the rows, letting the students pick at random. "No exchanging! You get what you get and that is final. There are to be no popularity contests in this class."

When the teens around them unfolded their pieces of paper, Duo could hear a lot of groans and grumbles. He watched Heero unfold his paper and then looked over the Wing pilot's shoulder. The blue-violet eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He opened his mouth, almost letting loose one of his obscenities, when Heero clapped a hand over the American's mouth and glared at him. When Duo had calmed his nerves down, he picked the paper out of Heero's fingers.

"Kisama, Heero, you're playing Romeo???"

The said pilot scowled deeply. Duo had no idea whether to laugh his ass off or sit down and be stupefied. He chose the latter, staring blankly at Heero.

Laughing his ass off: the reasons why would be very clear. Romeo, in the play, is obviously a very emotional and expressive young man, who constantly proclaims his undying love throughout the whole script. Duo simply could not imagine the Wing pilot doing any of those things, much less say act it. And there was no doubt in his mind how comical the Perfect Soldier would look on stage acting the part of Romeo. Emotion was_ not_ one of Heero's greater assets.

On the second hand, Duo felt like he wanted to cry. Partly because Heero would have to kiss some lucky girl who would have the part of Juliet. Sighing, he turned around in his seat and looked at Wufei's slip of paper.

**Tybalt,** the letters read in neat print. Duo began to grin wickedly.

"You know, Wufei, I wonder if you can play the character of a coward well."

"What???"

"In _Romeo and Juliet_, Tybalt kills Mercutio and runs away, returning later to die at Romeo's sword. Very fitting for you, Wu. Very fitting." Duo noted the very nice red color that was sprouting on the Chinese man's cheeks, and slowly filled his face.

With his barely controlled anger, it was remarkable how Wufei managed to say, "Injustice!" without yelling.

"I wonder what part Quatre got," mused the American, glancing over at the blond. He snuffed out a snicker when he looked at Trowa, who was apparently staring at his paper, clueless. Wufei glared at him.

"Why don't YOU look at YOUR part?"

_I have no doubt that Maxwell could act well without even consciously doing it, _the Chinese man thought. He frowned. _We'll never hear the end of it._

Duo cocked his head and grinned. "Come on, Wu, you know I can act out any part just fine," he said over his shoulder as he unfolded the piece of paper. But when his eyes landed on the words, he froze. The skin on his face turned a ghastly white. He blinked. He let his mouth fall open. And he leaned forward and began to bang his head on the desk, attracting a good deal of attention. Everyone in the classroom stopped their chatter and stared at him. Heero could distinctly hear the American mutter,

"Nononononono way I am not doing that nonononono—"

Reaching forward and picking the piece of paper from Duo's fingers, for the Deathscythe pilot was preoccupied in banging his head on the desk, Wufei looked at the name. At first Heero could see that the Chinese man was stunned. Then, very, very slowly, the pilot of Nataku turned red. This time, however, it was for a different reason.

**Author's Note: I'm pretty sure by now that everyone is well aware that Duo was given the part of—**

"Juliet!" choked Wufei. He could no longer hold in his glee. The class continued to stare as Wufei fell back in his seat, attempting to take control of his mirth. He snickered, which was at least better than watching the normally solemn Chinese pilot falling into violent laughter.

"Justice is served, Maxwell. Justice is served," he choked out. Duo stopping banging his head altogether, slumped over in his seat.

Heero, for someone who never wore his emotions on his face unless he was angry, looked extraordinarily benumbed. Duo, on the other hand, wouldn't even lift his head to see the look on the Wing pilot's face.

_Is this a blessing, or a curse?_ He asked himself. Listening to the snickers of the Shenlong pilot behind him, Duo shook his head. _Definitely a curse._

~*~*~*~

"I hate my life."

Throwing his fancy shoes where it slapped the wall, Duo flung his bag onto the desk and collapsed on his bed. Kero, small hands holding a rather large sandwich, took a large bite, chewed, and swallowed. He looked at the mess of limbs on the bed.

"So this is how your typical Gundam pilot looks after school, " he said dryly. "Looks like life-threatening missions are easier, aren't they?"

"Shut up, Kero. You are not helping. In fact, I think you should get the stolen puddings out from under the bed right now or I will throw them out the window."

"Ah. Nature is a convenient garbage pail?" Kero scowled as Duo's hand came out from under the pile of blankets and yanked out a vanilla pudding, hefting it in his hand. "All right, grouch, don't throw them out and I'll give you a share."

Duo snorted. "Is that supposed to help me in a play where I have to act the part of a girl? And it just had to be Juliet, didn't it?"

"What's so bad about that? You look like a girl."

"Say WHAT???" His violet eyes blazed, glaring intensely at the yellow guardian beast. Kero actually blinked twice before replying.

"Anything unusual happen today?" Kero took another large bite out of his sandwich, deciding it was better to keep his mouth full.

The American immediately frowned. "There was this girl I met on the elevator. I tried to sense her magical powers with my mind, and something blasted me back. I know she has a lot of power, but I'm not sure if she discovered anything about me. The problem is," he muttered, "she's the most popular person in the school. I'm pretty sure she's probably like Relena and always has a band of groupies or at least a friend with her. Not to mention the fact that we suspect she's one of the OZ spies."

"Ah, complications." Kero swallowed and quirked his mouth. "So have you got any ideas?"

"What ideas? I just want to sit back a while and see what she does before trying to communicate. Without Heero knowing, of course."

"Of course. Your 'trigger happy'—" at this point Kero had finished his sandwich and was quoting the two words with his small arms "—friend would only be too glad to shoot you, ne?"

"Yeah," mumbled Duo. _I pretty sure Heero would only be too glad to KILL me. _He looked out the window. Immediately he frowned.

"It's practically April." Rising from the mussed up sheets, Duo walked over and peered out. "So why is it snowing? It started two periods ago, but I thought it was just a passing thing. Oi!" He let out an exclamation as he realized the snow was already several feet deep. The campus of the Academy was a winter wonderland, with some spots here and there of people trying to shovel through the snow, only to get covered themselves. He frowned.

"There's no way that there could be a blizzard at this time of the year. And even if there was, it shouldn't be covering the ground with snow that fast. It takes hours before snow can pile _that_ high."

The two looked at each other. "Sakura card?" Kero asked.

Duo nodded an affirmative. "Sakura card," he repeated. "I can't let anyone see though.....Let's try the roof and then Sleep." Snatching the guardian beast from the desk, he snagged the cards and a pen before opening the door and heading out into the hallway. Suddenly he was glad that he had gotten a single. When they had looked into the school files, there was only one double room left, and Trowa and Quatre got it. Now he wouldn't have to worry about the fact of being discovered.

With a purpose in mind, he set out for the roof.

~*~*~*~

Heero scowled at his laptop. The screen merely blinked back, a machine that had no idea what it did to insult its owner. He shut it, unable to keep his mind occupied. Or, more like his mind was already filled with thoughts.

There was no way he was going to play Romeo.

Because if he did, he would have to kiss Juliet.

Which meant he had to kiss his fellow pilot, Duo.

What rotten luck.

He heard the American arguing with Ms. Pierney about the fact that he was a boy and refused to act the part of a female. The teacher only pointedly told him that back in Shakespeare's time that boys had to play the roles of ladies as well. Heero had a feeling that Duo only didn't want to do it because it involved kissing him.

Right now, he can see why feeling nothing was the best.

There was only a slight problem with the whole thing, actually. Heero Yuy had never been taught how to kiss. He was taught how to kill swiftly and silently in over two hundred different ways. He was taught how to shoot accurately for long distances. He was also taught over three hundred different physical attack techniques.

Kissing, apparently, was not counted as one.

_Emotions are an obstacle,_ he told himself. Like Duo was one. Though he really didn't want to pass this obstacle.

Pushing himself away from the desk, Heero closed his laptop and stood up, walking purposefully out of the room to find Duo and discuss the mission. He had made note of all the suspected OZ spies, their schedules, their friends, and what extracurricular activities they did. J informed him that one of them held all the accumulated information on the pilots that OZ had, and he was to dispense of that too. There was no accurate number of spies, but Heero suspected the Akizuki girl the most, seeing as to how she had an unhealthy degree of smarts about her.

And also because he found a hundred year old document on a person known as Nakuru Akizuki. In the school records she was listed as fifteen. The picture, however, that came with the document was unmistakably her. But there was no way someone could exist for a hundred years and still appear fifteen. Unless that person was a clone. Which was all the more to suspect that she was a product of OZ science. Nothing much of her past and present life was known, not even in the school records, but she had a mansion outside of Landew and a rather large bank account.

Turning a corner, Heero suddenly stopped and drew back, watching as Duo exited his own room, closing the door none too silently behind him. The American, paused for a millisecond, and then ran down the opposite direction, the yellow winged bear in one hand, and a pack of what was pink cards in the other. The Wing pilot's eyes narrowed.

_What could the braided baka be doing now? _Heero wondered if he should follow. What the American did outside of missions was none of his business. Hesitantly he took off after the Deathscythe pilot, all the while wondering what Duo would be doing with a stack of pink cards (it was quite obvious he disliked the color rather intensely) and with that teddy bear.

Duo had never slept with stuffed animals before, as far as Heero could recall. It was odd that he would suddenly pick up a toy and start walking around with one. It was childish, but Duo was never quite into the category of "mature". Heero remembered the feeling when the bear was in his hand. It felt warm. Stuffed animals did not feel warm, he knew that, but that time he thought it was only because Relena had been cuddling it.

The Perfect Soldier was never suspicious of toys.

He frowned. He couldn't be _jealous_ of a toy, could he?

Heero caught a glimpse of long, _loose_ chestnut brown hair swinging around the next corner. He frowned, his fears confirmed when he spotted Duo ahead of the figure that stood between them.

Nakuru Akizuki.

Evidently she was also following the unsuspecting American pilot.

~*~*~*~

_Smart, Maxwell. Very smart. How do I get to the roof? Heero was right. I should think before I do anything else.....Oh, who cares now? I'm looking for a way up. So I'll just use the emergency stairs._

Sighing, Duo pushed open the door to the staircase, looking up. Thankfully, he had only two floors up to go, and then the extra set of steps to the roof. Releasing his hold on Kero, Duo flew up with his normal grace. The yellow beast followed, ears pricking. Someone was following them, that he was sure of. Or maybe it was a just a temporary feeling. Kero shrugged it off, focusing on the task at hand. They were now by the door that led out to the roof. Duo paused, getting a nod from the guardian beast, and pulled it open.

Almost immediately he closed it again.

Both of them had gotten a good look at the wall of snow blocking their way to the roof. It covered the entire doorway, leaving no way out.

"Okay, now I'm just going to use Sleep in here." He chanted the incantation, releasing the staff, and yanked out the said card.

"Sleep!"

The card sped down the stairs. Swiftly Sleep scooted through the whole school, flying quickly through the front doors to work her magic on the entire campus. Waves of power emanated from the tiny, fairy-like card, casting a spell of oblivion on Landew Academy.

In the library, Wufei slumped forward, nose marking his book.

Trowa, standing out in a hallway talking to Quatre, collapsed onto the floor, next to the also unconscious Arabian.

Heero, just climbing the stairs after Duo and Nakuru, fell asleep on the steps three flights down.

Recalling the Sleep, Duo turned to the door. "Now what? The Firey is going to burn this building down before it melts the snow if I release it in here. Have you got any ideas?"

"No," replied Kero sourly. "You're the Card Captor. As a part of your job, you should know how to use the cards in situations like this."

"Aren't you nice." The American pilot bit his lip. "Water melts ice too, right? What it can't melt it can move." Duo snapped his fingers. "Got it."

"Your brain runs a mile a minute, doesn't it?"

"Yep. You're very lucky I'm also a trained Gundam pilot, ne?" Duo pulled open the door to the roof and stared at the wall of snow. "Here goes. Wave Card!" _Why do I always hope that it works without really knowing?_

At his command the card burst, overflowing with water that splashed in every direction. Snow melted into water and gave it an even bigger wave, pushing all the snow off the roof. Unfortunately the Card Captor that summoned the card got soaked. Kero shook his head and slapped a hand over his eyes. Duo was wearing a very caustic smile. His braid dripped water.

"Ah," was all he could say. Duo then stepped out onto the wet roof. Snow began to swirl over only the roof of this building, layering it already in snow. Duo scowled.

"I've had it. I'm wet, soaked to the skin, it's snowing on me in the middle of April, and I'm standing out here because of some damned job as a Card Captor. My ass is ready to freeze. Now that I've cleared some of the snow it's filling up again. No way am I going to let it cover this place again. Firey!"

Firey exploded from her card, flaming brightly from Duo's anger. Tentacles of fire burst in every direction, covering every inch of the campus. The card swooped around the area surrounding the school, her intense heat also evaporating the melted snow and water. The icy cold air around them became bearably warm, also drying off the Deathscythe pilot's clothes nicely. Duo darted over to the edge of the roof to see Firey's handiwork.

"Looks like Firey's clearing out a lot," he muttered. Kero hovered over his shoulder, viewing the academy's now clear grounds, devoid of and snow.

A powerful gust of wind suddenly rocked the Guardian beast, sending him cartwheeling away from the roof. Duo didn't have time to steady himself, and, unfortunately, he tumbled off the building altogether.

"Float!"

_Thank God for quick thinking, _he thought, riding the pink balloon back up. He dropped off on the roof, only to be greeted by howling winds mixed with snow. _Now it's sleeting on me?!_

"Kero! You never said that the Snow card could sleet!"

"It can't!" the small beast yelled back. He was regaining his balance, and now swooped back towards the rooftop.

"So why is it SLEETING on me then???" Duo shouted, shielding his face with his arms. "And snowy winds aren't usually _this_ strong! This is the stuff you get in hurricanes!!!"

"Then maybe another card is working with Snow! Figure out what it is!"

"I can barely even MOVE! Every time I'm yelling I'm getting a mouthful of snow and rain!"

It clicked. "It's the Storm card!" Kero yelled, trying to see the figure of the pilot within the spiraling tornado of water. He had no doubt that Duo wasn't thrilled with being drenched again, and wisely, he moved away from the gathering of fury.

"Shield!"

And right on time, Firey spiraled back from her journey around the town, wrapping around the tornado. The water hissed, turning into smoke. What remained separated, and Snow and Storm reverted back to their true forms, falling apart and landing on the roof. Duo sighed, still damp, and removed his shield.

"Snow and Storm, return to your cards confined!"

~*~*~*~

He watched the braided teenager shout out those words, and then the two beings that came from the twister were sucked into a glowing rectangle that magically appeared above the pink staff. All of this was too interesting. It turned out that the school wasn't so....._boring_ after all. This teen was new to this school, and yet already he had proven he was special. All this stuff with the fire and water and snow and storming was absolutely incredible, and phenomenal. He had never seen anything like it.

Closing the screen of the security cameras, the man turned to his assistant, who stood by the door.

"Sir, should we report this to the government officials? They would have good deal of interest in such a strange specimen. This is an unbelievable event. To be able to conjure large quantities of fire by simply through a card—absolutely amazing, sir, and we have footage."

The man raised a hand to silence the assistant. "I have my plans. Make sure that no one gets to the cameras and that no one sees it."

"Yes sir."

~*~*~*~

"I never want to do that again."

Unaware of any spectators, Duo picked up the cards and stared at them, shaking his head. "If any other card captures are going to be like that, Kero, I am seriously going to think about quitting."

"So_ you're_ the new Card Captor? You don't look all that special to me."

Spinning around, Duo acted on his instincts, gripping the staff like a weapon. Kero craned his neck, seeking the origin of the voice. It sounded distantly familiar, though he couldn't place the tone. both of them were startled when a figure just peeled itself from thin air, taking on a definite shape. Duo's eyes widened as he recognized Nakuru Akizuki. One of his biggest secrets was blown by a suspected _OZ_ spy. Heero was going to kill him, or Nakuru would first if she was really a spy. Seeing no weapon in sight, the American wonder if he should risk pulling out his own gun. Judging by the appearing trick she just did, she could no doubt get rid of it easy.

The said teenager was tapping her chin thoughtfully. She suddenly snapped her fingers and a look of recognition materialized on her face. "I knew I saw you somewhere! Une labeled you as the notorious 'pilot 02'."

His gun was out and aimed at her before she finished her sentence.

Nakuru rolled her eyes and flipped him off. With the same gesture she got rid of his gun. Duo stared at his now empty hand. He turned to Kero.

"This really isn't my day, is it?"

Kero ignored him in favor of glaring at the grinning girl. "Ruby Moon! What are you doing here?"

She smirked at the guardian beast. "Eriol has chosen to haunt a mansion somewhere nearby, that's why."

"Wait a second here," interrupted Duo. "You know her?"

"I know her?" Kero snorted. "I don't just _know _her. She's Ruby Moon, the second Moon Guardian! Her human form is Nakuru Akizuki."

Duo blew at his bangs. "Listen, Kero, you only explained as far as it got to the cards. Everything else I have absolutely no clue of whatsoever. Would you mind TELLING me something for once???!!!"

"You know, a Gundam pilot being a Card Captor isn't a pleasant idea," Nakuru mused absently. "There are bound to be complications—"

"Duo, I told you I would explain things as they came along—"

Duo sent both of them lethal glares that would have rivaled Heero's. Both immediately shut up.

"Okay, let's begin with you," Duo said, pointing at Nakuru. "Are you an OZ spy or not?" The question sounded stupid in his own ears. _Who in their right mind would ask that kind of question? _he thought.

"No," she replied sourly. "I _ have_ hacked their computers for fun, you know, the days I get bored. I found your profile. What little of it they had."

Kero snorted again. Duo frowned.

"But how do I know you're not lying? I mean, you could be working with OZ, you know. Urk." The Deathscythe pilot rubbed at his temples. "I should have never agreed to this card capturing thing."

"Look, Duo—your name is Duo, right?" Nakuru continued at Duo's nod. "I'm....._considered_ a guardian of the cards. Blah, I never read the rule book. Well, since you're the Card Captor, you really don't have much of a choice but to believe me. Besides, the cards were always first priority. Nothing else is as important."

_Just like Heero and the mission....._"Goody. Then at least I won't have to kill you, right?" Duo sighed. "Right. Just make sure you don't tell anyone else anything about me."

"Don't worry," said Nakuru airily. "I'm not a tattletale or a gossiper."

"So.....What is a Moon Guardian?" Duo felt himself sliding on his customary grin.

"There were two guardians for the Clow book," Kero stated unpleasantly. "Me and Yue. He's the Moon Guardian. Later Clow Reed was reincarnated, and he became Eriol, with two different guardians, Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon. She's Ruby Moon."

"Hn." Duo ran his fingers through his bangs. "This is great. Absolutely fantastic. Have you got any proof you're not an OZ spy?"

Nakuru shook her head, "Iie."

"Then Heero's gonna kill you."

"You mean your loverboy?" the girl teased.

"Heero is not my loverboy!"

"Oh really? I happen to know exactly who you're going to be in _Romeo and Juliet_. And judging by the way you've flushed at my comment, I would think different." Nakuru looked extremely cocky.

"We are only friends! The parts were not chosen by choice! I'm just embarrassed that I have to kiss one of my friends, that all!"

Kero sighed as the two continued to bicker, quickly traveling from one subject to another.

~*~*~*~

"Oi, Heero, wake up."

Heero could feel himself returning to consciousness, detaching himself from the dark haziness of sleep. Someone was shaking him. Promptly Heero pulled out his gun and aimed it at the source of sound, eyes opening a split second later.

Duo, blinking and staring cross-eyed at the barrel of the gun, filled his vision. Heero scowled and withdrew his weapon, somehow finding a way to hide it in his uniform. The American sat back, moving away. Heero could feel the drop in warmth. He sat up quickly, looking around.

_I had enough nutrients. There is no way I could have passed out climbing stairs._

"Earth to Heero!"

The Wing pilot batted away Duo's waving hand. "Hn." Standing, Heero brushed himself off. He knew something odd was going on. There was no sign of Akizuki, and the school itself seemed too quiet. "What happened?"

"You passed out on the stairs."

Heero glared. The American pilot only grinned back.

"I'm not suggesting that you aren't fit to be the Perfect Soldier just passing out this once, Heero, but you haven't been sleeping much lately anyway." Suddenly Duo turned very red. "Uh, about that play thing, you know....." _Plaything? That doesn't sound right..... _"Er, it'll be okay if you don't want to.....you know. Um.....smooch? You mind, don't you? I mean....."

Heero stared at him. Without really thinking, he answered.

"No."

~*~*~*~

Number of cards left to be captured - 16  
Cards captured in this chapter - Snow, Storm


	7. An Eventful Day

First of all, sorry to all those who have been waiting.....And thanks to all the people who reviewed.

This chapter really pissed me off. After spending like two weeks on typing the whole thing up, my computer decided to screw up. Even on disk the file was lost, and I was woebegone. I had to start all over, typing up some several thousand words again. Thus the reason as to why it is late beyond imagination. I was sorely tempted to go downstairs and get the sledgehammer to make a nice big hole in my computer, but then where would I type? It gets better when you have to drag your brother to the library and away from his video games to get him to read. And the TV on behind you can be very, very distracting; I went on my sis's computer to type and she got annoyed. Typical. It gets even better when your modem prevents you from getting online.

I've also been working on a new fanfic; if I'm not too lazy.....

Enough of my complaints. Some of the characters here may be OOC.

Chapter VII - _An Eventful Day_

"I can't believe he said he didn't mind!"

Duo strolled out into his somewhat untidy room, rubbing at his long tresses with a towel. He picked up a brush and began to attack the tangles at the ends. Kero, who was busy staring at his pudding with starry eyes, picked up a plastic eating utensil from the school more commonly known to us as a "spork". He paused before digging in.

"Are you sure you would rather have him reject you?"

"Kero."

The guardian beast ignored Duo's threatening tone and spooned a generous amount of the chocolate pudding into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "I think I like vanilla better....."

"I think Heero must have lost his wits. Ms. Pierney said that I wouldn't have to play Juliet if Heero minded the smooching parts. Now what?"

"You go on with the show."

"Are you crazy?"

"Isn't this what you wanted all along?"

"Not exactly. I mean, I don't want Heero to feel compelled to.....you know, because of the fact Shakespeare wrote it."

"When you finally get the chance to have what you want, you complain about it. Delightful." Kero swallowed another spoonful of chocolate pudding.

The American yanked at a stubborn knot. "I am not complaining about it, Kero."

"You are too." The guardian paused in his devouring to glance at the bathroom. "No steam? You didn't take another cold shower, did you?"

"So what if I did?"

"You're going to catch a cold taking cold showers."

"Not that I can help it."

Kero sighed. "I see. Attack of the teenage hormones. What set you off today?"

"Shut up." Duo brushed through the last of the tangles. He didn't dare mention that he was looking at Heero while they were changing for gym earlier today. The picture of a half-naked Heero was still quite fresh in his memory.

"Is that Duo Maxwell telling someone else to shut up?"

"Kero, you know you talk just as much as I do, maybe even more. And half the time you talk it's about food."

The yellow beast promptly changed the subject.

"When's that play going to be performed again?"

"In a month."

"Then I would suggest you start practicing."

"I don't even have a copy of the play yet. Practice what?"

"Kissing, of course."

The teenager stared.

"Since when were you so nosy? How does one freaking practice kissing?" he muttered. "It's hard enough having to act a female part the way it is."

"Really? What's so hard about that? You look like a girl. I don't think it's going to be hard. Sakura's acted the part of a male before. And her boyfriend's been Sleeping Beauty, you know that? Tomoyo made a costume for him, and he was dressed in this frilly pink fluffed out gown. She even had a curly blonde wig for him....."

Duo shivered. "Yuck. I'll look like Relena!"

Kero immediately hissed, "Don't mention that name!"

Snorting, the Deathscythe pilot snapped a hair tie on the end of his braid. "You don't really expect me to walk up on stage, in front of a whole audience, and say, 'O happy dagger, this is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die'?"

A loud knock on the door startled them both. Duo grabbed his gun from somewhere in the mess, and reached for the doorknob. Kero dropped dead, spork clattering.

When the American finally opened the door, his face colored very quickly.

The guardian beast felt an odd prickle on his skin. That meant only one thing.

The person standing in the doorway was Heero.

And in their conversation Kero distantly recalled that Duo had not dressed after coming out of the shower. In fact, he was wearing only a towel around his waist.

Typical.

The first thing Heero did the moment Duo opened the door was reign in his raging hormones by glaring at the poor yellow bear on the desk, which lay suspiciously next to an open cup of half-eaten chocolate pudding. Heero scowled darkly. He knew something was wrong with the toy, but he had no proof that it was not what it seemed to be. Not that teddy bears were suddenly going to band together and try to conquer the world.

_Shit,_ Duo thought. _He didn't just hear me recite that line from the play, did he? Damn....._

"Heero? What are you doing here? Didn't expect you. I was—I just finished my shower. I wasn't expecting a visit. I mean, it is kind of late. Sorry. I'm babbling again, I really didn't think you'd been knocking on my door at this time."

In his stammering nervousness, Duo apparently didn't notice that he was repeating himself. His face was as red as a tomato, and Duo kept his eyes downcast, though he could faintly feel Heero's eyes flickering from Kero to him, and back to Kero again, like he was watching a tennis match. When he finally gathered the courage to look up, he was surprised to see a slight pink tinge to the Wing pilot's cheeks.

"You were talking to someone else."

"Uh....."

Duo was pinned with a very intense glare.

"Yes. I mean, I was talking to Kero." The American grinned, walking over to the desk and picking up the limp guardian beast. He waved it about before placing it on the desk again. "My friend."

Heero stared.

"So.....Mind telling me what you're doing outside my door right now?"

Suddenly remembering what he was here to do, Heero hastily thrust a manila folder at the American. Duo caught it just as it smacked him in the face. The Wing pilot didn't bother explaining, and just stalked down the hallway back to his room.

_Follow your emotions. Not your hormones._ Repeating the litany to himself, Heero locked himself in his bathroom.

Shutting the door with a sigh of relief, Duo slumped against it. "Let's hope something like that never happens again," he muttered.

"Really?" The yellow beast sat up and picked up his spork again.

"You know, Kero, if you spent less time moaning over food and poking about people's relationships, maybe _someone_ here would know more about the cards....."

"I don't hear you complaining," Kero retorted.

"Yeah, but that was before I decided that a two thousand year old guardian beast had little experience in everything but food and video games." Duo pulled on an over sized t-shirt and boxers.

"You stick very well to your motto of, 'I run, I hide, but I don't lie'. You didn't say a single thing that wasn't true."

"Years of practice. What the hell is this thing anyway?" Duo picked up the manila folder and made a face. "Normally Heero would even drop off some word about these things but he seemed to be in a hurry today." He sighed. "He seems to have gotten even more annoyed with me after drama. No doubt he's devising some kind of way to self-detonate before the date of the performance."

"I beg to differ," Kero pronounced, sticking the last of the pudding into his mouth.

"And I am supposed to agree with you because....." Duo opened the flap and pulled out a sheaf of papers, skimming through the first page.

Kero puffed his chest out imperiously. "I am the Guardian Beast—"

"WHAT???"

The yellow creature stared at the American. "You know who I am."

"I don't mean that. I mean this. This hundred year old file on Nakuru Akizuki."

~*~*~*~

"Duo!"

The teenager turned around to see the tall figure of Nakuru making its way through the crowd to him. He politely excused himself from the ring of girls around him, and sprinted off to meet her in front of the building. The taller of the two was panting, while Duo merely tapped his foot, waiting for Nakuru to catch her breath.

"I don't know how you do these things," she panted. "Yesterday you rollerbladed across the whole campus and you weren't even tired!"

He grinned. "Skills come in handy."

Nakuru straightened, hair flipped back over her shoulders. "You dropped off a note at lunch that you had something to ask me?"

"Yeah, well....." Duo slid his bookbag to the ground.

"Get your books off me!"

Both teenagers (Nakuru?) sweatdropped as the bag shifted slightly. Duo picked it up quickly.

"I, uh, brought the little yellow monster."

"Yellow _monster_? Who are you calling monster?" squawked an indignant voice.

"Shh!!!"

Duo looked around. "Can't talk here. Besides, my fans are watching."

Nakuru raised an eyebrow. "Fine. I haven't visited Eriol for about a month anyway." She headed towards the school gates in long strides. Duo followed, keeping up in step next to her.

"Who is this Eriol guy anyway?"

"He's the reincarnation of Clow Reed. Well, two thousand years ago he was. He died, and became a ghost instead of going to Heaven. I think he became a ghost because he still has something that he has to do. Whatever it is, only he knows." Nakuru yawned. "Hiirgizawa Eriol is a nutcase."

"Has he ever tried to interfere in the war?"

"Nope. But don't underestimate him. He's a lot smarter than he looks. He never does anything without a reason to."

Duo cocked his head to the side. "Why didn't you try anything?"

"I don't want to get messed up in the war."

"Why not?"

"Why do you ask so many questions? You're worse than Touya."

"Why not?" Duo repeated.

The long-haired girl sighed. "Magic wasn't made for battle, Duo. We could end up doing more damage than help if we stick ourselves in. It isn't an excuse. I will only use my powers in self-defense or if ordered to."

"She's right, you know." Kero popped up out of Duo's bag. "It isn't right to use your powers to kill. You promised not to use the cards in the war either. And you know that you would only fight fair without magic."

"I've never fought fair before," he muttered. "I leave that to Wu. I'm a soldier."

"OZ doesn't fight fair either," Kero pointed out. "But they don't use magic."

Silence reigned between the three of them for a minute. Then a man walked by, and Kero ducked into Duo's bag again. Nakuru changed the subject.

"What did you have to tell me?"

"Here." Duo pulled out the manila folder that Heero had given him and handed it to Nakuru, who stared at it curiously.

"What is it?' she inquired.

"Open and read." Duo pasted on a grin as Nakuru pulled out the papers and shuffled through them.

She blinked.

She looked up and stared at him.

"You found my overdue rent bill? My high school applications? You even have copies of my AC 99 graduation photos!"

He blinked. "You mean that was your overdue rent bill? You owe the owner practically 900,000 credits!"

"Well.....At that time we had a hurry to move and I forgot to take care of some last details. How did you find all this? And why did you print it out? I thought I hacked all the computers and deleted the info already."

"Akizuki-san, the first thing you must learn about computers is that they're all connected to one another. And anything could jump from computer to computer. You could have deleted something in one place to have it pop up in another." Duo sighed. "That's the worst part. I didn't find this. Heero did."

"You mean that boyfriend of yours?"

He glared. Nakuru smirked.

"Heero is probably going to dig deeper to find out precisely how old you are."

"So?"

"And knowing him, he'd think you're some kind of OZ science project. Like a Frankenstein."

"I'm not that ugly. And I'm not a zombie either." Nakuru frowned. "No wonder you asked me all those questions yesterday. You thought I was working with OZ?"

"Yeah.....Well, sort of." Despite knowing that she wasn't with OZ, Duo couldn't deny his instinctive feelings of security.

"So in other words, I'm in deep trouble with your friend?"

"Hai," Duo and Kero both answered.

~*~*~*~

_Something doesn't feel right._

Quatre blinked, closing his textbook. Trowa continued to read his own book.

"Trowa, do you know where Heero is?"

"Laptop."

"Wufei?"

"Other side of the library."

"How about Duo?"

The taller pilot froze. Trowa knew that Duo could easily be gallivanting about after another card. It was a bit unbelievable at first, especially the flying teddy bear and magic stuff, but it was clearly there in front of his eyes. And by his knowledge, Duo would have never been able to clean up the mess back at the house so fast without some kind of help.

Keroberos, the creature called itself, was very strange. He was a glutton for games and food, but had an innate sense of other's thoughts. Trowa wondered if he could read people's minds.

**[flashback]**

"What is Duo afraid of?" 

"Huh?"

The "guardian beast" flapped his wings once and turned around in midair to face Trowa. "What?"

"What is he afraid of?" repeated Trowa.

Kero contemplated the question for a moment. "If you're asking why he's afraid of you four finding out about this, well, I don't think it's that. In fact, I don't think Duo's afraid of you guys discovering his secret. I think he's afraid of what you'd think of him after you find out."

"Why?" he asked, confused.

"I don't know." Kero shrugged. "You've known—wait, that's not right, you've met him before I did. Don't you think by now you should have known who he is? His personality, what he thinks, and so on? You've all seen that he's cheerful and he's a loudmouth. But what else do you know about him?"

Trowa blinked.

"Believe me, I know not much more than you do. You four never even tried to know Duo beyond the cheerful mask. That is the part of him that loves and lives life. What else? You have a lot to learn about your teammate."

The tall pilot remained impassive, thinking over what he just heard.

"I don't understand how you all manage to work together. Maybe it's because all of you are just as secretive as the others. And Duo is probably better at keeping secrets than the rest of you. Because I've seen the other side of him, the one that none of you know about." Kero sighed. "He's worried the most about what Heero thinks."

"....."

"You know, Duo wasn't kidding when he said talking to you would be similar to talking to Heero."

"He never lies."

"That's true," Kero admitted. "But he says it's _similar_. Duo knows that you don't deny your own feelings like Heero does."

The Heavyarms pilot stared mutely at the guardian beast, who gave him a tiny smile. 

"He's afraid of precious few things, and those things usually involve his friends. In other words, the four of you." 

"Why.....does he take it so seriously?" 

Kero shrugged. "Heero. And maybe his past. I know from experience that a person's past can affect them in a way nothing else could. And from what the kid's told me about you, you should know that better than anyone. But half the time you all ignore him." 

"He's not a kid," said Trowa suddenly. Kero broke into a smile. 

"I know that, but if you're two thousand years older, it's a tendency to call young men kids." The guardian beast sighed. "I am getting to be like those crazy old wise men.....Do you have any video games?" 

**[end flashback]**

_He was right. Not even Quatre knows as much about Duo as he thinks he does. Even Quatre has his own secrets.....And he doesn't seem of the kind to hide something._

Both had been on the edge after waking up yesterday next to each other in the hallway, still slightly embarrassed by the fact that they had apparently been cuddling each other in the realm of unconsciousness. Trowa smiled inwardly at the memory and turned back to Quatre.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. Quatre frowned.

"Maybe Heero knows where Duo is," he suggested, pushing his chair back and standing up. Just as he did, the Wing pilot emerged from behind some bookcases.

"Have you seen Duo?" Heero asked abruptly, as straightforward as always.

They stared at him. Quatre smiled awkwardly.

"You.....don't know either?"

From past experience, the pilots could not decide if a missing Duo was a good or bad thing.

The last time Duo was missing, they ended up later that day with green hair. Lucky for them, it wasn't permanent hair dye, but it took Heero eight hours of scrubbing to get out. That was well over a week ago, and no doubt what would happen if the energetic American pilot was bored. He still played pranks on them, school or not. The other times Duo went missing, he was usually on a mission or poking around someplace else.

Quatre glanced at Trowa. "I'll go ask Wufei."

"No need." The Chinese pilot stopped by the table they were standing next to, and Trowa proceeded to continue reading his book.

"You know where Duo is?"

"With Akizuki."

"What???" three voices exclaimed.

"I saw Maxwell walk with Akizuki out the school gates."

Heero's eyes were burning holes in Wufei's head.

Quatre was the first to react. "Are you sure?"

"How many people on the campus has long chestnut brown hair like theirs? And not to mention Maxwell is the only one male that walks around with hair that long and in a braid."

The Arabian was caught on that question. Maybe it was because majority of the school contained long-haired blondes. And those who had chestnut-colored hair did not have hair which reached beyond the middle of their backs, except Duo and Nakuru. Both teenagers were very unmistakable people.

Trowa discreetly continued to read the lines on his pages, though he was well aware of the conversation around him.

"Did you see where they were going?" questioned Quatre.

"They were strolling towards Landew Park," replied Wufei sourly. Heero spun on his heel and was about to go when Quatre placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Heero, you should wait. The park is filled with people. She won't do something insane in public, you know. We're not even sure if she's the OZ spy."

He became the object of Heero's glare.

Trowa casually turned a page in his book.

"Yuy, calm down." Wufei's brows furrowed together in thought. "Maxwell isn't stupid, no matter how dumb he acts sometimes. He knows the risks."

Heero now glared at him too. "You know that Akizuki isn't normal. The files I found on her proved that."

"....." They all knew about the strange documents that Heero found.

Collective silence ensued.

Trowa turned to the next page.

~*~*~*~

"Do the doors always just swing open?"

Duo, Nakuru, and Kero were outside a large, picturesque house that didn't look haunted at all. It rose elegantly from the streets, two stories tall not counting the attic. It was the kind of house that was too big for a single person and a ghost to occupy. And it certainly didn't look like a creaky, moldy house.

_Too many horror movies, _he thought absently.

"Well, not exactly. If a thief or robber just walked up to the door it wouldn't open because, after all, a ghost haunts this house. He controls everything inside the house. If he wanted to cut the electricity, poof! And it's gone. He wants to move the furniture—they rearrange themselves. I don't even have to make breakfast if he feels like making the house cook dinner."

"Cool. Sounds like it's fun to be a ghost."

"Actually, he can't eat, so usually I have to do things manually....." Nakuru sighed. "He knows we're here, or else he wouldn't have opened the door the moment we were standing in front of it."

Kero snorted. "Or course he knows. He always knows. Eriol was a downright scary kid at eleven. Now he's a ghost. That makes him all the more unnerving."

Duo raised an eyebrow. He looked up at the house again. "It seems big for a teenager and a ghost."

"There's still one more occupant, even though he's not all the big. One of the bedrooms upstairs had to be converted into a library for him."

"Spinel Sun," Kero muttered. Duo smirked.

"I take it that you don't like this guy, Spinel Sun or whoever he is?" the American stated as they walked in. He was grinning.

"Shut up," grumbled the guardian beast.

A catlike purplish-black thing emerged from the other end of the hall, looking oddly different from Kero but of the same design. Glowing blue eyes with narrow pupils stared at Duo.

"Don't tell me _she_ is the Card Captor?"

Duo and Nakuru both coughed at the same time.

"I'm a boy," the Deathscythe pilot informed him.

"Didn't Eriol tell you?" asked Nakuru.

The black creature blinked. "Eriol never mentioned the sex of the Card Captor," he said, covering his mistake.

A small shaking rattled Duo's bag, and they could hear distinct laughter.

"Keroberos!" barked Spinel Sun. Kero popped out.

"Hello, Suppi-chan!"

Spinel's cheeks pinked.

**Author's note: I don't know what precisely to call Spinel Sun. For the sake of being lazy, I'm dropping off the last three letters to his name and calling him Spinel, though the others will still address him as Suppi.**

"Where's Eriol?" Nakuru intervened before the two could get into another stare down match.

"He's upstairs in the library," Spinel answered sourly.

"Eaten any sweets lately?"

"Shut up, Keroberos. At least I don't eat as half as much as you do."

"Better than going crazy over sugary stuff. I know when to stop.

"That's why I try to avoid the trouble."

"Too bad then. You're missing out on a lot of good candy."

While the two squabbled, Nakuru and Duo ignored them and instead dropped off their bags by the now closed front door and headed upstairs.

"Where are you two going?" asked Kero a few minutes later, finally noticing their absence.

"Upstairs to see Eriol. Where else? I'm certainly not going to sit around on one of your boring arguments. It may have been two thousand years, but you both seem to dislike each other even more than before." Nakuru rolled her eyes.

"I think that Keroberos is just simply holding a grudge."

Duo spun around, gun out and ready, only to find himself face to face with an old-looking young man standing just two steps below him. A mysterious smile formed on a pale face, dark blue eyes glinting behind a pair of large glasses.

"You might want to get your arm out of his shoulder, Duo," Nakuru commented.

The American tore his gaze away from the man's face and realized that his outstretched hand holding his gun was prominently protruding from the man's back.

"Holy shit." Duo pulled his arm back, and the blue-eyed man's shoulder only seemed to come into existence. There was no hole.

"Put your gun away," snapped Kero irritably. "You point that thing at everyone who startles you."

"I understand. A Gundam pilot must be alert at all times." The ghost was unfazed, smile still there. Duo quickly put two and two together. No doubt this was Eriol. And Kero was right when he said the ex-sorcerer was unnerving.

"Besides, I doubt a bullet will do much to a ghost," Spinel yawned.

Humored but not embarrassed, Duo tucked his weapon back in it's hiding place. "I am never going to get used to this."

Kero sighed. "You're a Gundam pilot and a Card Captor, Duo. How normal do you expect your life to be?"

"In case you don't mind," Nakuru announced, "I would like to state that we are balancing on the stairs right now. Can we get somewhere where we can sit?"

In a flash, they were all in one room. The walls were lined to the ceiling with bookshelves, with the exception of two large windows that let in a lot more light than it seemed to be able to. Duo blinked, and realized that he was sitting on a comfortable cushion chair, next to another matching armchair where Nakuru was seated. Eriol was nowhere to be seen, and Kero was perched on a tall stack of books next to an impassive Spinel.

"Let me guess. Teleportation?"

"Only in the house. Once there was a group of teenagers who wanted to try and break into a home. They, unfortunately, happened to choose this one.....When they got in, Eriol gave them a spook and sent them out." Nakuru's lips quirked, as if trying to hide a smile.

"A spook?"

Kero flew to another stack of books. "In other words, scared them until their pants fell off."

"Aa." Duo looked around. "Where are we exactly?"

"Second floor library." The tall girl yawned. "I think you might want to ignore Eriol when he finally comes in. He seems to like walking through walls."

Right on cue, the said ghost glided in.....emerging from the bookcase next to the door. Duo stared.

"The privileges of being dead," he muttered. "Infiltration would be a piece of cake."

"But it's no use if you're near non-existence," Nakuru replied smoothly. She looked around. "Maybe there's some kind of spell in here that could get your boyfriend out of my hair."

Duo's cheeks pinked. "Heero's not my boyfriend! How many times do I have to tell you that? He's a fellow Gundam pilot!"

Kero coughed.

"Well, I can't have your _friend_ going about thinking I'm with OZ and then put a nice bullet hole in my head, now can we?" Nakuru defiantly placed her hand on her hips.

"His friend thinks you're working with OZ?" questioned Eriol. He was _still_ smiling; the smile seemed to be glued to his face. The ghost hovered above the both of them. He glanced over at Kero and Spinel, who were both engaged in yet another argument.

"Like hell I am," mumbled the long-haired girl. Eriol raised an eyebrow.

"When did you start with profane language? Influence from school?"

Nakuru didn't answer but sent a meaningful glare in the American's direction. Duo's eyebrow shot up.

_Two thousand years without cursing? That must be horrible....._

"Aa." Eriol's eyes flicked over to the watching pilot. "She's still cranky about the time when OZ invaded the place we were staying at last time. Let's just say.....The soldiers had an experience they will never forget."

_I don't want to know....._Duo shook his head. "Why me....." _All I meant to do was give Nakuru the information....._

He stared up at the full bookshelves. "Do all those books have spells?"

"Not exactly. Some of them are nonfiction tomes involving history."

_I wonder if I can turn Wu into a frog or something....._

~*~*~*~

"You wanted to see me."

This was said very flatly, with undertones of irritation.

"I just needed to talk about your part in the drama play."

"....."

"You got the part of Romeo."

"Hn."

"Your friend mentioned that talking to you would be like speaking to a wall that only grunts back."

"Hn."

"Duo Maxwell is a nice boy. He said that the part of Romeo shouldn't trouble you, seeing as to how you're 'perfect' in everything."

"Aa."

Ms. Pierney, having been a teacher for a while now, could read the expressions of her students quite clearly. But this teen didn't seem to change his face at all, staring at her with those intense blue eyes, concentration never diverted.

Frankly, she had never seen a student less lifelike, compared to his bouncy rambunctious friend Maxwell, who smiled at everyone and was delightfully charming.

Why Duo was friends with this indifferent stranger, she had no idea.

"I also saw that Duo was slightly discomforted with.....the odds and ends of the play."

"Aa."

"I told him that I never changed the parts that the students received."

"....."

"And I told him he could ask you to see if you weren't comfortable with it either." _He looks like he could sleep on needles and still be comfortable....._

"Hn."

"He gave me your answer today."

"Hn."

"I would like to state that Romeo is a very emotional and expressive character."

"Hn."

"Please, at least _attempt_ to act out your part."

"Hn."

She sighed. Pierney finally understood why Duo addressed Heero Yuy as Stoneface. Even the four presidents carved in Mt. Rushmore had more expression than he did.

"Can you give me an answer?"

"Duo did."

Heero stood up and walked out of the empty classroom.

Pierney took off her glasses and rubbed her temples. She decided that she preferred to deal with the rebellious students more. She stood up with her mug and headed out for coffee in the teacher's lounge.

~*~*~*~

Wufei was on his way to find Heero.

Unfortunately, he crashed the moment he turned a corner.

Into the said teacher with mug going for coffee.

The Chinese pilot caught himself before he pulled his gun and regained his balance. The tall teacher maintained her own center of gravity and gripped her ceramic mug tightly.

"Watch where you're going, woman!"

A mere slip of the tongue.

Immediately Pierney placed her glasses on her nose, which she had not left back on her desk. She glared at him, towering over the shorter Wufei.

"What did you call me?"

"I don't have time for this," he grumbled.

"I would suggest you not walk around and label females by, 'woman' or 'onna', Mr. Chang. It is disrespectful. Men and women are equal, and your misogynic behavior will not be tolerated."

"I call you what I want, onna."

"Keep up this attitude and it'll make a dent in your record," Pierney snapped.

Wufei snorted. "See if I care, onna." He pushed past her and continued down the hall. The teacher fumed.

Halfway down the corridor, Wufei remembered that she was his drama teacher.

~*~*~*~

"You asked him why you were chosen to be the Card Captor, did you?"

Duo raised an eyebrow at Nakuru, who was heading back to the academy with him. "You were eavesdropping?"

Back at the haunted house, Eriol spoke to Duo alone, ordering the other three downstairs. And during that time, Duo and the ghost of the reincarnation of Clow Reed had a small conversation.

"No. But knowing you, that would be the first thing you asked."

"Well, I asked a bunch of other stuff before I asked him, 'Why me?'."

"What did he tell you?"

Duo smiled faintly. "He told me that the cards chose me, not him. He trusted their judgment. It doesn't matter if I'm a you-know-what, as long as I knew what I was doing and believed in it. He told me to follow my heart."

"Eriol's never given a straight answer."

"It must have been a coincidence to bump into you in Landew, you know."

"There are never coincidences, Duo. Maybe Eriol knew that he would meet you all along."

"He said that he didn't want to be reincarnated. Think that Eriol wants to be a ghost forever?"

Nakuru exhaled. "Ghosts only have a period of time to live on Earth. His time might be up pretty soon."

"So.....In other words, Clow Reed's spirit is going to heaven for the rest of Time, ne? So what are you going to do?"

"We exist as long as the cards exist," Kero said, popping his head out of a pocket in the bag.

Duo shifted the bag to another shoulder, trying to keep the guardian beast out of view. He frowned.

"Kero....."

"Nani?"

"You ate my candy bar, didn't you?"

".....Only the bar."

"And the bag of sweets next to the bar."

"And the bag."

"And my five strawberry Crème Savers."

"And the Crème Savers."

"I'm throwing out all the pudding."

"NOOO!"

"Shh!" The teenagers smiled apologetically at a passing lady that was staring at Duo's bag suspiciously. Once she was gone they both turned on the guardian beast.

"Are you trying to get us in trouble???"

"Don't dump my pudding and I'll shut up."

"It's your fault you ate all of my candy. I was planning to have that for lunch tomorrow."

Nakuru sighed. "It seems like you have to squabble with everyone you're around, don't you, Keroberos?"

Kero mumbled an incoherent response and sunk back into Duo's bag.

Suddenly, Nakuru stopped. Duo halted behind her, an inch from crashing into the taller girl. He stepped to the side and stared at the school gates.

There were two Landew Academies.

Two gates, two schools right next to each other.

"This can't be normal."

"Maxwell!"

Two very familiar voices floated towards them.

Two Wufeis. Both heading for the school gates, towards them, where they stood in between.

"Oh no. Nonononono. This has to be a nightmare." Duo blinked, staring at them and tensed, almost ready to run. Nakuru looked highly amused.

"Is that the misogynist that all the girls were talking about?" she asked. Duo just nodded. Kero made the wisest decision and hid.

"Akizuki!" the twin Wufeis shouted. They were outside the school gates now, and hearing each other's yells, turned their heads and stared.

And stared.

"MAXWELL!!!" Both yelled. "KISAMA!!!"

Duo took this chance to find a respective hidden alley.

"Release! Sleep Card!"

~*~*~*~

"He's at it again," the man murmured, eyes glued to the screens around him. He saw no sign of the braided teenager known as Duo Maxwell, but he did see, like the day before, people slumping down into a deep sleep. The halls of Landew Academy were littered with unconscious students.

"Sir, we have found the record of a Gundam pilot."

"So?" The man was barely listening to his assistant.

"The pilot's profile matches up with that of Duo Maxwell's. Short with a long brown braid. And Maxwell's school profile is highly dubious."

The assistant was met with a raised eyebrow. In three quick strides the man had reached the doorway where the assistant stood, and accepted the offered file. He skimmed it.

"Not many Caucasian males have long brown hair braided down their backs, now do they?" He looked back at the screens. "Send a message to William. Tell him to investigate Duo Maxwell."

"Yes sir."

~*~*~*~

"Twin Card?"

Kero nodded. "Unfortunately for you, they're hard to beat. You have to capture the both of them at the same time."

"Wonderful." Nakuru smirked. "And you thought today couldn't get any better."

Duo groaned. The long-haired girl firmly pushed Duo towards the two schools.

"You better capture this card before it gets away."

"That's nice. Can someone tell me where I can_ find_ this card?"

"Right there." Nakuru pointed up at two figures that appeared to be cartwheeling on the edges of the tallest buildings of the campus. Duo stared.

"I have to beat those two monkeys?" Duo studied their movements. Apparently the Twins had sensed their presence, and were leaping buildings to reach them. "They're fast. And they coordinate really well. Like they're reading each other's minds."

Both glowing creatures performed the same flip and landed at few meters away from them, grinning.

"Last time Syaoran and Meiling defeated the Twin Card together," said Kero moodily. "Don't ask. Meiling is Syaoran's cousin."

Duo sighed. "Let's get this over with."

"I feel another card," Nakuru stated abruptly.

"What???"

"I'm holding it at bay. It's not attacking until you finish with Twin first. I should warn you though, this card is going to be a cold one." Nakuru looked back at the expectant Twin Card, the two forms now dancing the Irish jig together. "Got any cards or ideas?"

"Wood!"

Green vines snaked forward, trapping the surprised Twin Card. Kero blinked.

"Sakura never thought of using Wood."

"I suppose this is another one of those advantages as to being a Gundam pilot," commented Nakuru dryly.

"Honestly, Wood was the first thing I thought of. And I'd rather save my strength to fight the 'cold one'." Duo smiled weakly. "If you can't beat them but you need them, restrain them. Otherwise known as capture by OZ."

"Capture the cards before they escape," Kero said, noticing the strengthening struggle of the Twin.

"Twin Card! Return to your power confined!"

Nearby, hidden neatly amongst tree branches, a camera turned to the scene and focused its lenses. It recorded the Deathscythe pilot's actions, and got a close and good look at the cards before panning out to show the three figures again, Kero having flew out of Duo's bag. Both teenagers had left their books at the school gates.

Once Duo had the card safe in his hand, he pulled out a pen and scrawled his name on the bottom. "I'm not taking chances."

"Well.....Beware of becoming an ice sculpture then." Nakuru withdrew her magic, breaking her hold on the incoming Sakura Card.

"Ice sculpture?" Duo yelped as a large pillar of shining white ice shot out of the ground, breaking through the dirt with an explosion of dust. The ground around it turned to ice, spreading quickly. Kero, in air, clearly had the easiest escape. Nakuru transformed into her other form, Ruby Moon, and took off into flight.

"I can see what you meant by 'cold'. Fly!" Hopping astride the staff, Duo soared up next to the second Moon Guardian.

"Sorry. Didn't have that much time warning you." Ruby smiled ruefully as Duo glared at her.

"Ice sculpture," he grumbled. The braided teenager veered to the left as another column of ice shot out the ground, narrowly missing him. "Why don't you just plain say, 'crazy ice thing that turns you into an icicle'???"

"Bad influence from Eriol," Ruby replied immediately.

"You blame it on the ghost." Duo rolled his eyes and looked back down at the ground. He spotted the ice now creeping up the first floor of the nearest building, freezing the foundation. "Before anyone else gets turned into an ice sculpture, I think I need to go down and use Firey." He swooped towards the roof of the structures. Ruby Moon followed him up, but just as the American landed the largest ice pillar exploded and shards of sharp ice flew towards them.

"Jump!" Duo dodged, flipping over them to land in a crouch, leaping off again as another set of icicles shot at him. _Like dodging bullets, _he thought. When he looked back, he saw Ruby Moon diving away from ice too. Kero was barely even noticed.

Suddenly another frosty pillar shot up right under him as he jumped, and Duo twisted away, only to realize he was plummeting to the ground headfirst.

_A very nice hot fiery explosive bomb would be handy right now, _he thought.

Ruby plunged and grabbed the pilot's arm, hooking it over her shoulder quickly before zooming to the area without ice and landing. Duo had a very unholy gleam in his eyes.

"Nothing, not even a card, is going to mess with Shinigami," he murmured. Ruby Moon stared. Kero flew down.

"He's not taking it well if he's talking about Shinigami," the guardian beast informed her.

"Firey!"

She gestured. "He's definitely not taking it well."

The card exploded. Kero and Nakuru blinked as the ice evaporated without even melting into water. Duo was grinning; it wasn't his normal carefree smile, but the maniacal grin that he wore in Deathscythe's cockpit. The pillars of ice vanished, leaving gaping holes of earth. Firey wrapped around the last standing ice column and Duo raised the staff again.

"Freeze Card!"

~*~*~*~

A person standing in the shadows outside the school gates watched. He pushed his thick glasses back up his nose and slipped away, smiling to himself.

~*~*~*~

Number of cards left to be captured - 14  
Cards captured in this chapter - Twin, Freeze


	8. Tragedies and Insanities

Weeks ago my computer went berserk and refused to allow me online. I unplugged the mouse to attach a new one, and my com refused to work altogether. So I lost what I typed on my computer, and in order to finish I have to type on my sister's comp. Not that I can blame my machinery, it's old and dusty. And not to mention my infatuation with writing long stories.

**This chapter:** Wufei and Pierney don't get along well.....And the Chinese pilot has no idea what his sexuality is after a fellow student questions him about it. Trowa and Quatre, thankfully, don't get into any kind of trouble, but stand back and watch from the stands (I'm going to be evil later). Heero is having problems figuring out what he wants (a problem he never had before), and Duo.....Let's not even go there.....

Chapter VIII- _Tragedies...and Insanities_

"Prop swords."

"Prop swords."

"_Prop_ swords."

"Yes, prop swords."

"Props!"

"Wu, did you really expect Pierney to let you poke somebody with a real sword on stage?"

"PROPS!"

"This is _drama_, 'Fei. Of course it's all props."

Wufei stared in stupefaction at the variety of fake objects used in playacting. "Fake swords. Injustice!"

Duo patted him on the shoulder. "I understand, Wu. It's a shame to waste your skills with a simple stage prop, isn't it? What a tragedy."

The Chinese pilot glared. "Shut up, Maxwell."

Grinning for ear to ear, Duo picked up one of the swords. "Look on the bright side. You can't chop off my hair. At least not for real."

He growled under his breath. Wufei sorely wished that he could take out his_ real _katana and in one neat stroke, decapitate the American's head. "I will chop it off if you don't shut up."

"If I'm playing Juliet, then you are definitely going to hold a fake sword."

"Will not."

"Will too."

Wufei grumbled something unintelligible. Duo poked him in the side with the sword, and he glared at the way-too-cheerful Deathscythe pilot, who only grinned back.

"Fine," the Shenlong pilot snapped, snatching the prop away before Duo could poke him again.

"Did I mention that before the final rehearsals and the real thing you get to play with long sticks of wood?"

"Maxwell!!!"

Snickering, Duo ducked as Wufei attempted to dice him with the prop sword. He popped up again.

"Wuffie, the love I bear thee can afford no better term than this: thou art a villain!"

**Author's note: What Duo just said were Tybalt's lines in Act 3, Scene 1 to Romeo. Of course, I changed the name to suit Wufei.**

"KI. SA. MA!!!"

The self-proclaimed God of Death laughed heartily and darted off, ignoring Wufei's curses and heading out of the auditorium. After the Freeze card episode two weeks ago things had cooled down considerably. Now Duo was even looking forward to finding another card. The only problem.....Heero.

Not that the Perfect Soldier could get any colder than he was already. Half the time Duo found him glaring at the lines in the play that he had to memorize.....Talk about expressive. And the Wing pilot was probably still peeved over the fact that Duo went for a "walk" with Nakuru. And still, after two weeks, Duo hadn't found a way to explain how hundred-year old documents could be found on Nakuru Akizuki.

_I could tell him she's a vampire,_ Duo thought. So deep was the pilot in his mind that he didn't notice the student walking towards him until they crashed.

Books and papers went flying through the air. Duo succeeding in returning to humanity just in time to stumble a bit and regain his balance. The other student, however, landed flat on his butt, papers floating to the floor around them.

"Iya! Sorry!" Duo immediately bent down to help the student up. It was a boy of medium height, taller than Duo, not quite a jock. He had a pair of thick glasses askew on his nose, and freakishly neatly combed brown hair. Hazel eyes peered at him. Duo noted that aside from glasses thicker than Wufei's skull this student wore the school uniform without a single wrinkle. 

Talk about a geek.

"Sorry!" The American smiled apologetically, knowing that nerds were often.....ignored. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." He bent down, gathered a large bundle papers, and began to straighten them. The other boy blinked, and then squatted down to pick up his books after fixing his glasses.

"T-T-Thank y-y-you," the student stuttered before scuttling away again. Duo blinked, and then shrugged as he watched the figure disappear down the opposite end of the hall. He frowned.

A tap on his shoulder startled him and the American spun around, only to find the smiling face of Nakuru looking at him.

"I see you've crashed into William Penn," she noted.

Duo stared at her. "Who?"

"William Penn," the girl repeated. "He's our school geek. And he's not exactly the smartest either. He stutters, and runs into people all the time. It's a bit odd if you ask me, but then again maybe some people are just plain clumsy."

"His name is strange."

"Yeah, but how normal is your name? I've never met anyone called Duo before. And I'm two thousand years old."

"What is it with you and Kero about being two thousand years old?"

"It's a convenient excuse."

"How long has this William Penn guy been here?"

"About two months. Why do you want to know?"

He just stared down the other end, violet eyes narrowing. "Something about him doesn't feel right."

Nakuru raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I don't sense anything magical about him."

"Not magic." Duo shook his head. "Maybe it's just me. Forget it."

"Good then. I was looking for you because I want you to get your boyfriend to stop glaring at me."

"How many times do I have to tell you, Nakuru, Heero is NOT my boyfriend!"

~*~*~*~

"You know, Duo seems to be on really good terms with Nakuru." Quatre frowned slightly.

"....." Trowa stared at the blonde. Duo had explained the "Guardians of the Cards" thing to him when he asked and that, obviously, was the reason why Nakuru was over a hundred years old. And it seemed impossible, considering how young she actually looked. And he had no doubt that the others were growing suspicious. After all, not even the congenial pilot of Deathscythe had been that close to an OZ spy before.

"My heart tells me that Nakuru has no evil intentions.....But still, something is definitely strange about her. I wonder how old she really is.....She can't be a hundred. She looks too young. Unless she really is an OZ project." He sighed. "I think Heero is going to self-detonate if something doesn't pop up soon. He's glared every single time Nakuru walked by. I'm surprised. She didn't even flinch."

"She's ignoring him."

Quatre blinked and looked back at the taller pilot. "What?"

"Akizuki is deliberately ignoring him. She doesn't face him because she knows what will happen."

"Oh." He glanced at the group of students hovering around Ms. Pierney, who was looking extremely exasperated. "Well, no one's actually ever....._ignored_ Heero before. I mean, they'll scram after the first meeting." Quatre's brows furrowed together in thought. "Maybe Heero is stressed about.....Romeo."

"He's been glaring at his copy of the play more than he's been glaring at Akizuki."

"Heero's not used to being so.....emotional, I guess."

The Heavyarms pilot resisted the urge to chuckle. "Heero may be playing the wrong role."

"I don't know, Trowa, this might actually be good for both Heero and Duo."

Blinking, he stared at Quatre, who only smiled enigmatically.

"Those two have been edging around each other. Both are pretty embarrassed about their feelings. Heero, knowing him, hasn't admitted them to himself, and Duo is scared of Heero's response."

_Keroberos said that Heero had a great influence over Duo's actions, _Trowa thought. The actions between the American and the Wing pilot were so subtle he barely noticed it.

"Maybe _Romeo and Juliet_ would be able to get them together."

"Hope for the best."

**Author's note: Do you know what? Next time I write a fanfic, I'm going to plan out everything months ahead. I have something in store for Trowa and Quatre, and they are NOT in a relationship right now, but it will be in due time.**

They both heard the rise of voices from the group of students. Trowa recognized one of them to be Wufei's, and the other Pierney's. Every day the Chinese pilot and the red-haired teacher found something new to argue about. Once the principal himself had to break up the tirades between student and teacher. Lucky for him, Wufei had only been sprouting Japanese and Chinese profanity, which no one but those who knew the languages understood. Pierney had an expansive vocabulary, and she had something new to call Wufei each day. It was tiring.

"Not again," Quatre half-moaned. Everyone that had surrounded Pierney now gave the two a wide berth for their newest spat.

"What do you mean I need fencing lessons???"

"You need fencing lessons for your role of Tybalt."

"This is drama, woman!!! None of this has to be realistic!"

"My name is Patricia Pierney. Call me by either name but not 'woman'. I'm sending a note to the fencing club president."

"I don't need fencing lessons!" Wufei sputtered. "Barton and Yuy aren't getting them!"

Trowa was in the role of Mercutio. The one who died in a duel with Tybalt.

Pierney glared, hands fisted and placed on her hips. "I've seen them. They don't need the lessons."

Wufei's onyx eyes were spilling fire. "This an outrage, woman!"

"You'll be dreadfully sorry if you call me that one more time."

"Onna!"

She picked the best revenge a teacher could have.

Pierney immediately sent Chang Wufei's name to the school guidance counselor.

~*~*~*~

Students in the wide corridors wisely moved away from the teenager that practically reeked of murder. He glared at whomever was available to glare at, and boys and girls alike shrunk from the intimidating student.

Heero stalked the school's hallways, fingers closed tightly around the copy of the play he held in his right hand. Veins throbbed in his head.

_Duo no baka._

The three words went on and on, a litany replaying constantly in his head. Finally it faded away to other thoughts.

**_I was looking for you because I want you to get your boyfriend to stop glaring at me._**

**_How many times do I have to tell you, Nakuru, Heero is NOT my boyfriend!_**

It hurt. The Wing pilot didn't know why, but it did.

_Emotions are weaknesses. Never let your emotions get in the way._

He knew he wasn't Duo's boyfriend, not in the right terms anyway. But it hurt to hear those words. Especially from Duo.

_I hate emotions._

_Why do I feel this way? The baka is nothing more than a Gundam pilot. A pilot that is expendable._

Heero stormed out of the building, a startled teacher gasping at his expression and shrinking as far as she could get from this student. He couldn't understand the rush of emotions, but he understood that some of it was anger. Why should he be angry?

_I am not angry at the baka. I am not angry at all. What am I angry about? I never wanted the baka to think I was his boyfriend. I'm not._

_Why am I confused? I have only one objective: to complete the mission. _

_The only thing that is important is the mission._

_He doesn't matter._

Inhaling deeply, Heero took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He had walked into a shadowed area between two buildings that was nearly deserted, providing him with enough privacy to think straight. Now Heero realized that he should have stayed to hear the rest of their conversation. He had no idea if Duo was sprouting out information to her.

_He wouldn't._

The Wing pilot hated the "little voice" that always popped up in these cases. J had mentioned that it was something all humans have known as a person's conscience, but no matter what he did, Heero couldn't squash it like he did the rest of his emotions.

_Duo may be a baka sometimes, but he isn't stupid._

Once Heero had resolved that, his thoughts churned back towards the words he heard. Duo had told Nakuru Heero wasn't his boyfriend.

Which was true.

So why was it so depressing?

At these times Heero hated being human. There was always the emotions that distracted him and made him uneasy. What Duo said had hurt. Feelings welled up inside him that he didn't understand. Heero scowled, face returning to its emotionless mask. He couldn't let his emotions get in the way of the mission.

He straightened, and stalked off to get to the laptop in his room.

~*~*~*~

The school guidance counselor's office was decorated with various papers tacked to the wall, and a desk with a few chairs around it. The desk had one phone with a lot of lines connected to it, along with a mess of papers scattered about the surface. A serious-faced woman sat behind the desk, hands folded and sitting straight, her outfit remarkably unwrinkled despite the mess around her. Blond hair was swept up into a neat bun, without a single hair out of place. The air around the office was serene, quiet, and peaceful, a place for thought.

And Wufei absolutely hated it, of course. He _scowled_, glaring at the lady with no little dislike. She was a Ms. Gloom, or so they said.

Wonderful name for someone who was supposed to help you.

The lady cleared her throat. "Mr. Chang, isn't it?" Her voice was smooth and cultured.

The Chinese pilot thought it sounded condescending.

And he didn't bother answering the question, staring out the window instead.

"Would you mind if I called you Wufei instead?"

"_Yes_," he half-growled. Ms. Gloom smiled.

"Then I'll address you by your last name. I hear that you.....seem to have problems with your fellow students."

_What an outrageous lie, _Wufei thought, his onyx eyes flaming.

"Ms. Pierney is a respected teacher in this school, Mr. Chang, and it seems that you don't have any respect for her either as well as your peers." Ms. Gloom leaned forward, green eyes gleaming. "Are you sure that you don't.....have any problems in school?"

Wufei snorted. "You women are all idiots."

She stared.

And cleared her throat again.

"Mr. Chang, being a misogynist does not give you any advantages in this school. Could it be some kind of grudge you hold against a female that makes you act this way?"

"I do not need you poking into my private life. It is none of your business."

"The only way I can help you, Mr. Chang, is if you tell me if there is something wrong."

"There is nothing _wrong_, _woman_, except for the fact that _you're_ sitting in front of me and that fact I am here."

"There's nothing wrong about being in the guidance counselor's office. If you need help, you will receive it here. It is quite clear that you seem to have a problem, or problems. Is there something you need to talk about, Mr. Chang?"

"I have nothing to say to you," he spat, standing and looking down his nose. "Pierney sent me here out of spite and you are a perfectly useless counselor. I would suggest you get yourself another job."

Ms. Gloom's eyes narrowed.

Five minutes later, Wufei walked out the office looking very satisfied.

Later that day Ms. Gloom handed in a resignation letter.

~*~*~*~

"You mean Wu actually got sent to the guidance counselor???"

Duo stared at Quatre's serious face, and burst into laughter. The blonde frowned.

"Don't laugh, Duo, it's not funny!"

At this the American only laughed harder, holding his stomach, face turning red.

Quatre sighed and looked to the Heavyarms pilot standing next to them for help. Trowa shrugged. He knew they couldn't stop Duo when he was in a fit of laughter.

Gasping and choking, Duo had a few last snickers. "Did you know that the guidance counselor was female? Knowing Wufei, he'd terrorize her before he gets into any kind of trouble."

And sure enough, Wufei emerged from the main building unscathed. He had a very smug look on his face.

Behind him, the building shook and windows rattled as screams echoed through the hallways.

"Wufei! What happened?" The Arabian eyed the shaking structure.

"Gloom," the Nataku pilot replied, the look in his eyes clearly telling them not to ask. Duo grinned.

"The least he probably did was make her insane."

"Maxwell....." Before Wufei could finish what he wanted to say, however, the American interrupted.

"Have any of you guys seen Heero?"

Quatre shook his head. "I haven't seen him since.....the auditorium."

"He probably wouldn't want to see you."

Popping up out of nowhere, Nakuru handed Duo a stack of manga. "Thanks. I was bored to death with those textbooks."

"What do you mean Heero probably wouldn't want to see us?" asked the Deathscythe pilot.

"Ah, let's see. He stormed down a hallway glaring at whomever he could and scared off a several teachers?"

They stared at her.

"Yuy must have been pretty pissed at something, or _someone_," Wufei muttered.

Trowa and Quatre exchanged glances. Remaining fairly impassive, the taller pilot's eye(s?) flicked to Duo quickly. The American caught the motion and nearly winced.

_What is he mad about now..... _Sighing, Duo resolved to see Heero as soon as he could.

Nakuru didn't need to look at Duo to see his expression. She could sense his wavering magic. It was odd that something like that could be connected to his emotions and current feelings. When Duo was cheerful, his power seemed to glow. It altered when he was angry or even if Heero was around. The tall girl made note to ask Eriol about it the next time she saw him. Such changes in a person's magic was odd, because not even Sakura or Eriol's powers adjusted to their moods.

"The last time I saw him he was entering the boys' dormitory."

"Thanks Nakuru. Catch y'all lata!" Duo made a beeline towards the indicated building. He turned around halfway and shouted back, "I forgot to tell you Wu, Pierney wants to see you!"

"Kisama," the dark-haired pilot muttered. "I'm not going to see that woman again."

"You're just being spiteful because she sent you to the guidance counselor's office," retorted Nakuru, crossing her arms and giving him a look. "There's a price to be paid for your actions, you know."

"What do you mean, onna?"

She smiled, and that seemed to make her look even more frightening. "You'll see, Chang Wufei....." Quatre froze, blinking as the girl let out a giggle (which suspiciously sounded much more like an evil cackle) and turned away, striding off in another direction.

"She's bluffing," Wufei huffed.

"I don't think she was," answered Trowa. Wufei glared.

"There's no trouble with—ack!"

The Nataku pilot was taken aback by a boy who just appeared, startling the three of them. Trowa duly noted that he had seen this boy in one of his classes, and he was positive that the teenager peering into Wufei's face right now was a homosexual. In fact, there seemed to be several students in Landew Academy that were gay. None of the teachers seemed to mind it.

"Kisama!" Wufei jumped away and **glared**. "What do you think you're doing???"

Straightening, the boy pursed his lips, eyes moving all over the Chinese man as to study him.....

"You don't seem to be the type to be gay."

"NANI???"

Wufei was completely red in the face.

"Did," he began, huffing and puffing as if getting ready to blow the boy away by his very breath. "Did-I-just-hear-what-I-thought-I-just-heard???"

Trowa fought to keep his face straight, and Quatre masked a smile with a serious frown.

"Well, there have been rumors, you know," the boy continued, oblivious to Wufei's mounting fury. "You're famous for being a misogynist and having rows with Pierney. If you hate women and females so much, you must be gay."

"Go figure," muttered the Heavyarms pilot. Both he and Quatre tensed, backing away to wait for the bomb to explode. Students nearby stared.

"**I am NOT gay!!!**"

With that Wufei stomped off, leaving to go off to the gym before he snapped someone's neck.

**Author's Notes: Sorry. I think I'm getting a bit carried away. But there is a reason for this state of denial Wufei is in.**

Quatre heard the distinct mumble of the shocked boy.

"He must be asexual....."

~*~*~*~

Duo opened the door without knocking.

And got the barrel of a gun shoved in front of his face.

"Uh.....Heero?"

The gun was lowered and Heero glared, yanking the American in before shutting the door. He returned to his chair in front of his open laptop, gun mysteriously disappearing.

"Talk." The Wing pilot's jaw was clenched, fingers flying across the keyboard even quicker.

"Uh, Heero, is there something wrong? Nakuru said you've been acting strangely today, you know, and, uh, well, here I am. What did I do wrong now? I just chatted with Nakuru today and talked with the other guys. There's nothing wrong about that, is there?"

Heero didn't answer.

"Can't you just tell me? I mean, getting a grunt is better than no answer at all."

"Why don't you talk to Akizuki then?"

Blinking in surprise, Duo frowned. "What are you so annoyed about, Heero? The fact that I'm socializing doesn't affect the mission. You don't know if Nakuru is the OZ spy we're looking for."

"And you do?" Heero shot back.

The American was shocked speechless. He stared, wide-eyed at the glowering Japanese teen.

"What has gotten into you today, Heero? I've talked with her every single day. Why the blow-up now? I'm not revealing secrets to her. I haven't even told her anything about my Gundam! If you're so suspicious, why don't you just shoot me? It'll take a lot less work," he added bitterly.

"....." the Wing pilot turned away, staring at the screen of his laptop. Heero wanted to ask about what he heard of their conversation.....But he had no idea if Duo would be insulted....After all, he had told Nakuru that Heero wasn't his boyfriend. Heero himself still didn't understand why he reacted the way he did to hearing Duo say those words.

_But then again, you know he doesn't lie,_ nagged the voice in his head.

"Heero? Are you going to tell me or not?"

While Heero had been conflicting inside, Duo had been waiting impatiently for the answer. He half-hoped that Heero would tell him what was wrong, to open up, even if it was just a tiny thing. The other half was just waiting for Heero to resort to the Perfect Soldier, shutting out everything and ordering him to go away.

The hopeless half was winning, and the Deathscythe pilot considered walking away.

For the Japanese boy in front of the laptop, it was like having the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other. They were both shouting at each other, the angel urging him to speak up about his feelings and the other telling him to punch Duo. Heero decided to be direct.

"I saw you talking with Akizuki this morning."

Said American teenager paled.

_He didn't hear the parts about Nakuru being two thousand years old, right? Oh shit, if that's what he is disturbed about, he heard me talking about Kero and.....Uh oh. I'm going to KILL Nakuru. If Heero heard the boyfriend part....._

"She called me your boyfriend."

_Damn damn damn damn damn damn damn damn. Damn Heero. Damn Nakuru. It's definite. Her execution will be performed the moment I see her._

"You told her I wasn't your boyfriend."

_WHAT???_

"Say WHAT again???" he nearly screamed. _I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm so so so so dead.....He can't suspect that I'm thinking of something more, right? It was just a sentence.....He didn't hear the stuff we said before and after, right? I'm in my grave already....._

"....."

Heero stared pointedly at his computer screen. His own set of thoughts were scrambled.

_Duo's reaction was unexpected. Did I state it correctly? Unless he thought I was implying something else....._

"....."

"....."

Neither knew what to say.

~*~*~*~

"I think he's gay."

"No, I'd bet he's asexual."

"Do you think there's a possibility he's a trans?"

"He certainly could look like a girl. He might even be cross-dressing as a man."

"I don't even think he would let you live if he heard that."

"Go to hell. I think he's just been sexually deprived and that's why he's been wandering about shouting at females."

"So you think he's hetero?"

"....."

".....Maybe not."

"Duh! He's too hot for no teenage girl to crawl into bed with. Unless that female was les."

"Watch your mouth. I'm female, remember?"

"You just have no hormones. I say he's bi."

"If he's bi, he would attempt to at least flirt, right?"

"Maybe he has no hormones like Jen."

"Shut up."

~*~*~*~

Wufei felt as if he could drive his fist through a wall thirty times.

Even workout at the gym hadn't helped. Everyone was staring, even the gym teacher. Apparently he had to buy the school a new punching bag.

_I am a Gundam pilot, a fighter for justice._

_I pilot the Gundam Nataku._

_I named it after my dead wife._

_I am an honorable warrior._

_AND I DON'T KNOW MY SEXUALITY!!!_

He stared at the wall in front of him, contemplating its poor destruction. The pilot 05 decided against it.

Picking up his katana, Wufei marched out of his room.

Ten minutes later, a cat stuck a up a tree two blocks away from Landew Academy screamed and jumped off the branch it was sitting on. The branch fell to the ground, along with a good portion of the tree. The bark and branches had been cut off.

~*~*~*~

Kero, on the other hand, was bored to death. He had polished off several dishes of ice cream in the school kitchen, and then proceeded to beat a whole stack of video games in Duo's room. The guardian had even succeeded in winning without the victory music.

But now he was bored.

And he could sense Duo's magic flickering, constantly blinking in and out, as if the American himself was fidgety.

So, following his senses, Kero slipped in and out of hallway shadows towards the direction of the magical vibes.

The guardian beast found himself outside another door in the boys' dorm. His eyes narrowed.

There wasn't a single sound coming from the room.

_Did something happen to Duo?_

To the great relief of the guardian beast, voices started up inside the room he hovered outside of. One of them was definitely Duo's. The other he recognized as Heero's monotone.

_So this is Heero's room, ne? Wonder what Duo's doing in there....._

A huge sweatdrop formed on Kero's head. He shook himself and wiped away hentai thoughts, blaming Duo for his bad influence.

"Just forget about it, okay, Heero? I have to meet Nakuru in ten minutes."

"You are getting too close to our suspect."

"Geez, Heero, how do you know? And what business of our friendship is yours?"

"You are endangering the mission, baka."

"Curse the damn mission. I make friends with who I want, Heero Yuy. I don't care it if endangers the damn mission. And I have my reasons to believe that she isn't the spy we're looking for."

"Evidence?"

".....I don't care, Heero. You have no evidence to prove her the OZ spy either. And as far as I'm concerned, I can be friends with who I want to, Gundam pilot or not."

Kero, at this precise moment, dropped to the floor in doll mode as the door flung open a mere second later.

Unfortunately, it was the greatest mistake he had ever made.

Simply because Duo stepped out of the room (stomped).....and stepped on him.

It took all of his willpower not to scream. Kero clenched his teeth, remembering the presence of the Gundam pilot 01 before Duo slammed the door behind him.

"Duo," he managed to mumble through his gritted teeth.

The American blinked, looked around in the hallways, and finally his eyes stopped onto his foot. In a quick hurry Duo leapt away.

"Kero! Holy shit—gomen!"

Scooping the limp body up into his hand, Duo blinked at the half-dead guardian beast he had just stomped on. Glancing about, he hurried back to his own room, careful of not damaging the guardian beast more than he was already. And he also babbled while he was at it.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't see you, and Heero just made me pissed. He wants to say something, but won't spit it out because he doesn't trust me enough, and it's like he doesn't think of me as his best friend at all, you know. I'm to Perfect to have friends? Always telling me not to endanger the mission, like I don't know what does—he can give me credit for being a Gundam pilot, right? No, never, it's never going to be like that when it comes to the goofy mission-endangering Maxwell."

The moment that Duo closed the door behind him Kero zoomed straight for the bed, surprising Duo with his recovery skills, and dived screaming into the large pillow.

~*~*~*~

**On the school website.....**

Weekly School Poll

There has been major discussions on the sexuality on one of our exceptional students, Chang Wufei, registered and in room 701 of the boys' dormitory. Who thinks..... 

○Chang is heterosexual?

○Chang is homosexual?

○Chang is bisexual?

○Chang is transsexual?

○Chang is asexual?

[Vote!]

~*~*~*~

"We will never get through with this thing," Pierney muttered, removing her glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose.

Her two lead actors were acting decidedly odd, and neither seemed to be able to concentrate on rehearsing. Even if their lines were memorized, Duo seemed listless today, and Heero couldn't get a word out with emotion. Distantly the drama teacher wondered if the parts they had were wrong for them, that she was wrong about the whole play. If the two of them could barely act, what would happen when it came to the kiss???

"Yuy and Maxwell are bad dreams," she sighed. "Chang is the nightmare."

Duo, feeling out of place, excused himself to head towards the bathroom, which was empty. It was clean for a school bathroom, and there was even a pleasant smell in the place.

**Author's Note: In real life, this kind of school bathroom would never exist.**

Human minds think alike; he, too, was thinking about the kissing parts. Especially the dramatic one in the end whereas _everyone_ had to see.

The prospect of being in a dress for one whole night also crossed his mind. Maybe even for the last few rehearsals. It wasn't a particularly nice idea; in fact, it came in second to the kiss on the line of dread.

Staring at his reflection in the mirror, Duo blinked. Something was oozing out of a stall behind him; apparently from the toilet too, from the sounds of gurgling water. A misty, greenish cloud flowed a foot or so on the surface of the floor, swirling around any objects it found. Warning bells ringing in his head, Duo backed up to the door, wisely stepping away. Transparent green tentacles continued to stretch, twining around the sink pipes. Metal seemed to wither from its touch.

Duo's eyes widened.

The pipe cracked.

Water burst from the sink, quickly flooding the floor. Duo wrenched the door open and practically flung himself out, slamming the door closed behind him. Taking a deep breath, he tried to remember the various cards that Kero had described to him. He wished he knew it was a card earlier; he was the Card Captor, for Death's sake!

"Which haven't I caught yet? The Change, the Erase, the...uh, the Windy, the Sand, the Mist, the Return—MIST!"

He pulled the pendant out, which swung like a pendulum between his eyes. The American quirked his lips, scanning his surroundings to make sure no one was present before summoning his staff.

_Kero said that Sakura caught the Mist card with the Shadow. Let's see if I'm good enough to capture a card from the hallway.....Hopefully the damage would erase itself. Otherwise I'll have a mark on my record and that would get Wu and Heero annoyed, now wouldn't that? I babble in my own brains....._

Drawing the Shadow card from the hidden pack strapped to his leg, Duo thanked Shinigami that he wasn't fat and the pack of cards didn't show through his trouser leg.

"Shadow card!"

A lump of darkness slid out of the pink card and slid under the door; already water was streaming out. The American pilot blew at his bangs, making an irate face. He checked his watch; halfway through the period. Plenty of time before anyone would be walking around.

Female voices echoed down the corridor. Duo froze, and then his shoulders slumped.

_Why does this ALWAYS happen to me?_

He did the sensible thing; the one place you would never find a girl, obviously, was the boys' restroom. Unless, of course, they had a mentality.

And back into the boys' room the teen went.

The pipes under the sink were still spilling H2O, but all traces of cloudy green transparent material was gone. Instead, it was replaced by a wobbling ball of black, which Duo figured was Shadow containing Mist.

"Mist and Shadow, return to your cards confined!"

Once the cards were safely in his hands Duo watched with much amusement at the cleanup procedure. The water was being sucked back into the pipes, every last molecule, and the pipe mended itself, the floor spotlessly clean. It was like pressing the rewind button; now there wasn't even a trace of the Mist having been in the room at all.

Yanking out a pen and scrawling his name along the border, he slid both cards into their hiding place and returned the pendant to his neck. The American exited the restroom fiddling with the end of his braid.

_I've had enough action for one day.....For going up on stage. At least the Mist was easy to capture.....I still haven't got two of the wild Elementals. Kero refuses to tell me what will happen after I've captured all the cards, telling me that I'll find out. But from what I can decipher in his mumblings, I'm probably going through some kind of test.....I'm betting that I'll get a failing mark._

As usual, the Maxwell _never_ watched where he was going. And he crashed into someone again, but this time he succeeded in dragging the person down with him.

_I am never going to deep-think ever again....._

That was his last coherent thought, before a heavier weight landed on top of him, and lips met his own unexpectedly.

When Duo looked up, his violet eyes met with a pair of Prussian blue ones.

~*~*~*~

Number of cards left to be captured - 13  
Card captured in this chapter - Mist

I am terrible.

This chapter, in my opinion, was the worst I wrote yet, and I had two months. Either my brains are too full of math or I'm just losing my touch.

Sorry for not updating for such a long time, and to keep readers waiting. Wufei strayed beyond the OOC point, and I'm getting slower and slower in my progress.

Which is better, frozen brains or fried brains?


	9. Resolved

**S O R R Y ! ! !**

Procrastination should be a deadly sin. But then again, to someone like me, free time has become a figment of imagination. At least one thing can be celebrated: my computer got fixed!

Whoopee do. (And just for the sake of forgetting to type: See Chapter I for disclaimer [I don't think I put warnings in that chapter, I am messed up] at the top of every chapter, I typed it in the last line.)

**This chapter: **Duo finds OZ spy records. Lazy. Read on.

Chapter IX - _Resolved_

_.....before a heavier weight landed on top of him, and lips met his own unexpectedly._

_When Duo looked up, his violet eyes met with a pair of Prussian blue ones._

~*~*~*~

Duo turned very, very red.

Heero turned very, very white.

The Perfect Soldier's mind was in shambles. He had no idea his first kiss would come about this way. He was shocked beyond imagination (Heero Yuy has not yet discovered what is called "embarrassment"); some unknown corner of his brain was telling him to take it further, but the evermore sensible soldier demanded him to his right mind and get off Duo immediately.

(He didn't like the latter's suggestion.)

Seconds seemed like years. Neither was able to look away; both forgot how to breathe.

"I'm not interrupting anything important, am I?" came an amused voice from above.

It was Nakuru.

With a speed that broke records and that neither pilot ever possessed on the battlefield, Heero and Duo were up and apart. One looked like a ghost; the other a tomato. Duo, if possible, turned even redder at the smug look and naughty grin on Nakuru's face. He spun her around and began to push her down the hall with amazing strength, leaving Heero where he stood.

"Nothing, nothing at all! We were, uh, practicing for the you-know-what part! Nothing important!" The American was half-shouting. After a maze of twists and turns that Duo didn't even notice, Nakuru whirled around.

"You two are absolutely incredible! One day the two of you are afraid to talk to each other; the next you're making out on the floor!"

At that moment the Deathscythe pilot hated Nakuru and her silly, know-it-all smile.

"I would suggest you get some kind of white powder for your face," she continued. "You're beet red."

Both hands came up to cover his flaming cheeks. "Nakuru," Duo hissed, "you breathe a single word about this to anyone, anyone including other Gundam pilots, omae o korosu!" The American turned his heel and stalked away, his head replaying the kiss over and over again. It was out to drive him insane.

The feeling of a warm body pressing onto his.....

Typical Duo didn't watch where he was going again. Since he was doing his best staring at his rapidly moving feet, he didn't see the person until it was too late; luckily, he didn't get a second kiss. That was the last straw.

"Who the damn hell is it this time?" snarled the irate Gundam pilot. He blinked in surprise when he recognized the askew glasses of William Penn. Not to mention the large number of books now scattered around them.

_This kind of stuff always **has** to happen to me, doesn't it? _Duo mentally groaned. Jumping up, he hastily gathered all the books he could hold into his arms; but there were still more. _How does that guy **carry** all this stuff?_

"I'm sorry; I'm always crashing into people—"

Duo blinked again. "What? I should apologize, you know, I was the one who wasn't watching where he was going. Do you need help with those books? I could help you carry them."

"Thanks," came the nearly inaudible reply. William adjusted his glasses and picked up the remainder of the books. "The librarian wants them."

"Why didn't you get somebody to help you carry them in the first place?" The American shifted the weight in his arms. _Good thing I've lifted metal....._

There was no answer.

"Uh.....So, why does the librarian want all these books?"

"A number of teachers' students just borrowed several books and they want me to return them, that's all. Most likely these books have been sitting in the rooms for months and they just forgot about them. Ms. Herring is picky and disagreeable; no one likes to be around her much." William smiled weakly as they turned into the library, where Ms. Herring stood eyeing the two of them with sharp, prying eyes.

"Is this all of them?" she rapped out in sharp tones.

"Yes," answered the brown-haired teen. To Duo he whispered discreetly, "We should go. Before Herring decides to 'find' a whole bunch of other tasks."

Duo didn't need to be told twice; he had seen many people like Ms. Herring, and they weren't the happiest people to be around for a couple of hours running errands for. He let out a breath in the hall, and then turned to William Penn.

"Have to go.....Seeya!"

And the American danced off. He was plotting his great plans for avoiding Heero Yuy for the next century. Duo _knew_ he couldn't face Heero again after the accidental kiss—he'd flip. And what would make it even better was if Heero took out his gun and shot him.

_Maybe Kero can tell me about some Invisible Card or something like that....._

~*~*~*~

"Come on, come on, I'm almost to the next level!!!"

Keroberos, the golden-eyed guardian beast, was presently banging his hands off on a video game. His beady eyes watched every movement in the screen, desperately punching the buttons to earn a few more points.....

"GAME OVER. TRY AGAIN."

"NOOO!!!"

The small bear-like form of Kero fell over the side of the bed and fell on his face on the floor, wailing with all his might.

In the moment that Duo opened the door he found Kero facedown and sobbing. He decided not to ask (the American had a good guess) and instead walked over to the mess of a table he had. All his garbage was piled on top; the drawers contained the important stuff. Duo had debated setting a small bomb for those who dared to look, but decided against it against it, since that would mean destroying the objects inside.

Which were the Sakura Book and cards. (If they were capable of being destroyed, that was, but he couldn't risk it.)

Taking the pink book out, Duo flipped open the cover and scowled at the symbols written on the inside of the cover. They looked somewhat Chinese. Wufei might be able to read them.....But then the Nataku pilot would want to know what it was.

He sighed and removed all the cards from the book, sensing their glowing warmth on his fingers. Duo smiled. The cards seemed so alive and friendly, so genial.

Unlike Mr. I'm-the-Perfect-Soldier he was partners with.

"Kero, is there a card that can help someone disappear from view for a very long time?"

The guardian beast immediately looked up. "Well, there is the Erase card....."

Duo raised a cautious eyebrow.

".....But you disappear permanently."

The violet-eyed teen shot him a constipated look.

"Fat lot of help that was. Can't hide, gotta run."

"Wait a second," Kero butt in. "What is going on? What are you doing? What happened?"

Sighing, Duo stacked the cards back into the book and closed it before replying, "Heero and I accidentally.....touched lips today."

"YOU KISSED HIM???"

"Wait, Kero, we just accidentally did it! I mean, I wasn't watching where I was going and we crashed and he kinda fell on top of me and we.....touched lips without really doing it! Unintentionally! And Heero's not that bad a guy, even if he does call you a stuffed animal—"

"HE KISSED YOU AND I DIDN'T EVEN SEE IT???"

"—I know you sort of don't like him—WHAT?"

Piercing violet eyes settled on Kero, who shrank from Duo's glare.

"Y-Y-You t-t-two had t-t-to k-k-kiss s-s-sometime," Kero stuttered, wilting. "Besides, you have the play kiss to do and you two won't TALK to each other, much less say smooch! You have that girlish crush on him anyway, so why are you so embarrassed??? You should be glad he kissed you!"

By now the Deathscythe pilot was standing beside the bed, looming over the somewhat small guardian beast. Duo seemed to be in thought, and then he nodded to himself.

"It's about time you visited the Relena box."

"IIE!!!"

~*~*~*~

"Heero! There you are!" Quatre sped up a few steps, stopping once he saw Heero's face. "Are you okay? You look as pale as a sheet."

Dazed, Heero just turned to Quatre and blinked.

The blonde frowned. He thought he saw Duo running around the corner just before, but he could tell from the far end of the hallway. What could have happened to make even the Perfect Soldier stunned?

Suddenly Heero Yuy was quite wide awake. The soldier pushed away all thoughts of the kiss.

"Did you receive any orders?"

"Well, I didn't, but Duo did. The doctors suspect that some information in the base ten miles south from here could give us a lead on the spies. He's going to have to get that information quick, because we have been here for nearly a month, and any of the OZ spies could have found something on us by now." Quatre gave Heero a long look. "Have you seen Duo anywhere?"

The Arabian could have sworn (which he wouldn't do, he's too polite to) that there were faint traces of pink in Heero's cheeks.

"The baka will check his mail," Heero said succinctly. He turned to another corridor and walked away. Behind him, Quatre rubbed the area where his heart was absently.

Now the Perfect Soldier was free to burrow into his thoughts.

_It was an accident.....Don't trouble yourself over such insignificant trifles....._

_WE KISSED!!!_

Lucky for the Wing pilot that he housed only a devil and an angel. Had he a pervert inside him, matters would be much more complicated.

_How could I lose my balance like that? Note: need re-training.....Iie, the baka dragged me down! Must tell the idiot to lose weight. Situation must not happen again....._

_Are you sure? _asked a tiny voice in the back of his head.

If Heero's eyes were lasers, the people walking around him would have been fried chicken. All of them steered clear of the Japanese teen; the frequent rounds of glaring Heero did was common now.

Suddenly, someone familiar stopped right in front of him, though he was glaring at what was apparently the chest of a taller female. He aimed his laser eyes upward.

Akizuki was grinning at him.

"What," Heero ground out, "do you want?"

She seized his arm in a hold that proved Wufei's Theory of Weak Women wrong, dragging even the Perfect Soldier with a great amount of strength. Heero scowled darkly and tried to wrench his arm from her grasp, but the manicured fingers just squeezed the circulation out of his arm.

An outside of the building and then an empty, shadowed alleyway later, Nakuru finally released her invincible grip. Heero's eyes were more than just ultimate lasers now. Yet the brunette remained unfazed.

_Hell, I live with Hiiragizawa Eriol. It's can't get any scarier or intimidating than that._

Leaning forward, she scrutinized him, their noses nearly touching. Heero ** GLARED.**

"I don't know why Duo even bothers hanging out with you," the guardian sighed at last, straightening and bouncing on her heels. Nakuru looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You treat him like dirt. I'm surprised Duo still thinks of you as his friend."

Heero froze. Then his eyes narrowed. "The baka's business is none of my business."

"Your point? Don't deny it. You know, Heero Yuy, I'm beginning to think that you actually_ like_ him, don't you? I mean, why else did you kiss him for so long outside the bathroom, ne?"

For the first time in his entire life the Perfect Soldier's cheeks pinked.

"Omae o korosu," he growled ever so originally.

"Hai, hai, I know, I know." Nakuru waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Remember, I'm Japanese too, Yuy, I know what you're saying to me."

Grinning, she leaned into his ear, breathing her next words:

"He likes you too."

Then she kissed him on the cheek and dashed off, but not before shooting him an evil grin.

Heero succeeded in pulling himself out of his stupor a few seconds later. He trotted off to the nearest bathroom to wash his face.

Mentally he replaced the number one eccentric female that he must avoid (Relena) with Nakuru Akizuki.

~*~*~*~

**Later at night.....**

"Now why did _you_ have to tag along? How many times do I have to ask you that?"

"Because a card might show up, baka! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

Duo sighed deeply and buried his face in his hands. _I hate it when he trails me....._

"Tell you what. We separate inside the base and you go off and terrify some poor soul while I get my job done. Get it? Heero is going—"

"To kill you if you fail the mission," Kero answered in a bored tone. "How many times have you told me that?"

"We're beginning to ask too many questions dealing with how many, Kero, just go and find some cadet to pester. Beware bullets." And Duo disappeared into the shadows by the building they were conversing on the far end of, braid tucked into his cap and dark clothes camouflaging him.

Kero shook his head. "Kids these days....." He floated to and open window on the second floor and looked inside.

Regrettably, a group of soldiers had been in that room. All of the sudden laughter became feminine screams as they scrambled to hide their nudity and run out of the room, the sound of water spray still echoing.

The guardian beast realized that he was looking into the men's shower room.

Meanwhile, Duo had managed to sneak into the base. Then he heard the screams.

"FLYING TEDDY BEAR!"

He sighed again, shaking his head. However, a certain picture nudged its way into his head and Duo couldn't quite get rid of it. He was picturing a certain unfortunate soldier going up to Colonel Une and telling her there was a flying teddy bear.....

_I better not run into Une anywhere at any base.....Dunno how she became a colonel with her mental instabilities....._

Peeking around the next corner, Duo quickly shrunk back, since a towering, imperious man was apparently facing his direction and from the look of the guy, the American could tell he wasn't just another soldier. He was one of the really, truly threatening ones. The sharp pale green eyes showed deadly ambition.

The Deathscythe pilot knew the man had seen him.

Yet the tall Ozzie, dressed in his gallant uniform and all, hadn't made a single sound as the shorter man next to him continued babbling about someone breaking security measures.

"Sir, there have been reports of a 'flying teddy bear', yellow, with wings and big head in the men's shower room."

Duo listened aptly. _Of all places to go.....that little pervert....._

"Tell them to capture it." The tall man's voice was deep, sounding melodious. Duo could almost hear the man smile. "Our guest is here."

Leaning on the wall behind him, Duo yanked the key from his chain and grasped it tightly. "If they do see thee, they will murder thee," he muttered, moving away from the conversing men.

Halfway down the hall, however, he remembered what the green-eyed Ozzie said.

He had just ordered soldiers to capture Kero.

The American wondered if it was bad for the guardian beast or worse for the soldiers.

Zip to Kero.

Dodging bullets was far too easy, considering the horrible aim of the men chasing him. Kero even found the chance to turn around and blow a raspberry at them. The looks of their faces were more than satisfying. Sticking his tongue out at them one more time, the ever-arrogant guardian beast didn't watch where he was going and flew right into a bag that some OZ soldier had the common sense to use as a trap.

The moment he closed the bag it glowed gold and exploded in a shower of fiery sparks. Kero flew high and fast out of the situation as the soldier yelped and threw the flaming bag at the wall. He snuck a look back, however, and scowled.

"Stupid idiot," he grumbled. "Sakura gave us a lot of extra power before she sealed the book, and not to mention Duo had already captured the Firey card."

Suddenly a soldier jumped from an adjacent hallway and aimed his gun at the yellow guardian. "You little overstuffed animal!"

Before he could press the trigger, however, Kero flew over his head and continued on his way.

It was a few seconds later before the soldier realized his hair was on fire.

Let's go back to the card captor.....

Duo had slithered into the filter system to find a way to the main terminal (or backup main terminal if he couldn't get the info from there) and once he got there, he knew there was no way he could get the information needed from there. It was an enormous room, with at least twenty people running around or sitting at computers.

So the other option was the backup. The one they made just in case the main one crashed. Information was uploaded every three days; Duo could live with a bit of old information. The Mad Five wouldn't mind; after all, they were after the information on the OZ spies, not current events.

When he found it, however, the room was empty except for the flickering screen that glowed dimly in the dark. And the one figure that stood in front of it. From the build of the shadowed form, Duo knew who it was.

Mr. Tall, Dark, and Mysterious Ozzie.

"I know where you are, 02. Or would Duo Maxwell be more appropriate?"

_Damnit. How'd he know that? If he actually went to the lengths to dig up the top-secret files OZ has on the Gundam pilots, then I'm probably in big trouble.....SHIT! Did he find out about the cards???_

"Are you coming out or not, Mr. Maxwell? I wish to discuss something involving your.....let's just call them unnatural powers as of now."

_I **hate** him._

Removing the grate, he slid out of the filter system. Staring sullenly at the back of the tall Ozzie, Duo rolled his eyes as the man ever so dramatically turned around.

"I am Major Simon Harlin. A pleasure to meet you face to face, pilot 02."

_Has Treize been giving lessons in smooth, affected mannerisms? I hate it when people act like that megalomaniac and Simon Harlin just needs a rose and a glass of wine to complete the look. And, of course, the freaky forked eyebrows. _Scowling darkly, Duo's eyes narrowed. "That's nice. What do you want?"

"Straight to the point and blunt, aren't you, 02?" The major smiled thinly. "Well, then, let's go straight to it. I have some video footage of some of your....._interesting_ excursions, and I'm quite sure you wouldn't want anyone to find out your big secret, now would you?"

"What big secret?" Duo snapped. _Gee, how many big secrets do I have.....And by the way he's talking, I'd bet it's THAT one....._

"Look." Harlin produced a remote and pushed a button. The screen behind him flickered to life as all the color drained out of Duo's face.

It was a video that showed him capturing the Snow and the Storm cards.

"I have a second one," commented Harlin. "Which one was it? I think it was Freeze, or something of that sort."

_Idiot's trying to blackmail me....._ The American pilot's hands clenched into fists.

Harlin noticed. "Don't get violent yet, 02. I don't believe in that magic mumbo jumbo. But if there is some kind of mutant power the colonists produced, I'm sure there's some kind of way we can settle this, now can we? Just tell me what it is. If not, then you can bring your Gundam to me and work for me."

The glow of the large flat screen behind the major illuminated his pale face in an eerie light. "There are many great things I want to do."

_He wants to rule the world, doesn't he? He thinks he can use the cards to help him? Tough. For me and for him. I'm not going to let him get to the cards, and he's certainly not going to do those "great things."_

"You are joking." Duo laughed. "Save your great ideas for later, Harlin. I can just kill you, destroy the tape, find the copies you made, and demolish them too." He raised his gun. Before he could release the safety, however, a bunch of other clicks sounded.

A group of soldiers burst in through the door and surrounded him, all ready and at arms. Duo puffed at his bangs.

"You planned this from the start, didn't you, you bastard?"

Cocking his head to the side, Harlin's smile remained on his face. "I don't think that getting out of the base would be so easy, 02. You can cooperate, or find the videos broadcasted all around the globe and in the colonies tomorrow."

Anger clouded his mind for a moment, before a familiar rush of tingling in his skin alerted him of the presence of another card. Duo smiled grimly.

"It's going to be harder than you think to defeat a Gundam pilot, Harlin, especially one that's a Card Captor."

The computer screen flared to life in a scintillating light, blinding everyone present in the room. Duo raised an arm to shield his eyes from the blue radiance, the hand with the star key in it tightening. When he could see again, the room seemed dark, except for the glow of the screen.

Several soldiers around them had vanished.

Blinking once, Harlin spun around to stare at the large monitor once more before he dissipated also, the rest of the soldiers wiped out as well.

Duo stared at the computer. It had wiped off the video and replaced it with a new window with letters constantly being typed out, over and over again.

= **E R A S E **=

The whole window was filled and still the word came out in a unremitting pattern.

A light bulb clicked in Duo's head.

Chanting the words to release his staff, Duo brought the star down onto the keys. The wand seemed to ignite a spark that spread through the system, setting the whole terminal into fiery lights.

"Erase Card, return to your card confined!"

It exploded. Electrical shocks shot through the machine and dust, pulled into the whirlwind around the Card Captor, flew about the room and coated the floor in white.

From the clouds of debris a shimmering rectangle emerged.

~*~*~*~

_Hey, isn't that the William Penn kid Duo had bumped into twice? The glasses and the outfit match.....But what is he doing entering an OZ base?_

Kero, hovering about outside (he got tired of playing with the soldiers, though some of them are calling for the "Murder of the Flying Teddy Bear," they couldn't seem to catch him or kill him), caught sight of the teen as he slipped into the base.

The guards had let him in.

_The OZ spy! _The guardian beast realized.

Swooping down and sliding into another open window, Kero easily found his way and trailed after William. The boy, taller than his appearance made him look, took long, sure strides. He knew where he was going, which obviously meant he had been here before.

When William reached his destination, Kero stopped in the last corner, the bright lights in the hallway unable to keep him hidden from view. William's hand rested on the keypad next to the door, and then his fingers flashed across the buttons so quickly Kero was amazed. The metal door slid open.

Duo's left hand automatically grabbed the disk that had just popped out of the machine in front of him. His other hand was reaching for his gun.

But William was faster.

Kero sped to the entrance of the room before the door could close behind the OZ spy, slipping in unnoticed. He also noted a nice fact with interest.

William had a gun aimed at Duo's head.

"We meet, 02," the spy said quietly, voice echoing in the silent chamber. All the people who had been working on the computers and incoming information were evidently asleep; Duo was standing by a computer motionless.

"Why is everyone calling me 02 if they know my name already?" Duo stared unblinkingly into the spy's eyes. "So much for the school geek, ne? You got as inconspicuous as you could, didn't you?"

Laughing, William removed his glasses and tossed them carelessly aside, taking a few steps forward, closing the distance between them.

"It was easy being a nerd that stuttered and stumbled and bumped into everyone. No one liked you, no one pestered you, no one would look at you twice. Perfect as a cover to scope out some other teens who could be trained into OZ spies."

"I've read files on what you call training," spat the Deathscythe pilot. By now there was only a few feet between them. "It's more like torturing young teens till they break and then molding them into weapons. Teens that are chosen because they have amazing learning abilities. Teens who go to schools like Landew."

"It's a small project," William said calmly. The barrel of his gun was an inch away from Duo's forehead. "But expanding. Major Harlin is the head of the operation itself. He plans to succeed in finding five teens who can match the skills of the Gundam pilots.....After he's done modifying their traits."

"That's a shitload of crap," Duo snapped. "Harlin's an ass, Penn, and if you're going to follow him then you're one too. You don't just take other people's sons and daughters and turn them into soldiers and spies through a bunch of science experiments!"

"We were programmed to be that way," answered William. "The brain chip in my head has made me smarter and quicker than I was before, Duo Maxwell. You're a fool to believe that you can do anything for the colonies, even if those idiots up there in space spent years on your training and the building of your silly Gundams. If you had promised Harlin what he wanted, you could have immense power. Harlin believed you could have been a great future second-in-command, Maxwell, though I didn't think so.

"And I was right, wasn't I? You refused him. And you're somewhat right too. Harlin was another fool." William trained his eyes on the small pack attached to Duo's belt. "Give those things to me."

"They cannot be controlled. You won't be able to use them."

"Listen, 02, I don't believe in magic. Hand them over or I shoot and take them."

The pilot stepped away. Looking up suddenly, Duo responded coolly, "Your hair is on fire."

William laughed. Then he smelled something burning.....

And lo and behold, his perfect hair was ablaze.

His gun clattered to the floor, and left an opening for the American to send a nice foot right into his gut. Kero flew up from behind Duo to hover around the pilot's shoulder.

"It worked once, should work a second time."

"You could have gotten me killed."

"I know that, Duo, but you're luckier than you think."

Snorting in response, Duo pulled out a card and released the staff. William was standing, suddenly looking wholly unaffected by the L2 pilot's kick. He stood silently.

"I can't blame you for what you've done, after all, Harlin really screwed your mind up. There's only one thing I can do that won't hurt anybody.....

Duo raised the card above his head.

"Erase Card!"

~*~*~*~

"All's well ends well, ne?"

Kero had stopped banging on the portable game system (since Duo Maxwell was the owner, it was a lot better game system than the ones the company produced) and stared at the teen that had just emerged from the bathroom, wringing out his wet hair.

"I suppose you can say it that way, Kero." Duo threw the towel on a random pile and grabbed his brush, working on the knots in his hair. "I mean, yesterday I wiped out all the memories of the people in the base, and all the information about me and the cards. Erase also went through the OZ systems and cleaned out all the computerized stuff they had on us." Wincing as he stumbled on a particular knot, Duo frowned. "I also wiped out all information dealing with that operation that William was screwed by."

Shutting the portable game, Kero cocked his head to the side.

"Weren't there other OZ spies also?"

"Yeah. And one of them is one of the people constantly hanging around Nakuru. She was about to turn Nakuru to OZ."

"Then that crazy girl should thank you."

"Nakuru? She would have handled the situation, I'm sure. And besides, if she didn't, then I could have helped her, right?"

"So that means you could get out of here soon, doesn't it?"

Sighing, the American pulled through the knot. "The docs told us to stay here for another week or so, to lay low and not arouse suspicion. The higher-ups in OZ would think it's odd that suddenly so many things disappeared at once, and will be on high alert, so no missions."

"Oh. Then I get your problem." Kero grinned. "You're still going to have to perform the play.

"You're still going to have to kiss Heero."

~*~*~*~

Number of cards left to be captured - 12  
Card captured in this chapter - Erase

I am getting very slow and this chapter was unreasonably short (by my terms, I'm a sucker at writing short stuff). I'll try to write more next time, though that'll be another two months (this one came two and a half months since the last one, I shouldn't be promising anything, and this chapter was still short). My brain is dying down, too many brain cells wasted on banging my head on the wall, and so on.....(That means ignore my babble.)

One more thing: In my last chapter, I had that poll thing about Wu's (ahem) sexuality. I don't know what the students should think of him.....So.....Out of bisexual, transsexual, homosexual, heterosexual, and asexual, pick one please? 


	10. Remember

Sorry it took nearly _three_ months to get this one out.....But in February I had a bout of writer's block because of some depressing events in my life.....I've picked up a bit again lately, though my computer is officially out of order and perhaps wouldn't be used ever again. I'm typing on my sister's computer, like I always do, and sometimes she knocks me off when I finally come up with something to write.

Maybe I should stop complaining and let you all read. Thanks for the reviews! I really didn't know if this whole thing would work out in the beginning, and now.....I'm up to chapter 10.

By the way.....I just noticed that Card Captor Death's one-year anniversary is coming up....And I'm still so slow. Disclaimer in some chapter before—I forgot which one, I'll check later.

One last thing, I promise—FF.net has been rejecting my table tags, so I had to revise the bits and pieces. It might look a bit off.

Chapter X - _Remember_

"Ugh....."

Rolling over onto his back, Duo threw an arm over his eyes. He groaned again, as if to make a point that he did not want to rise and shine.

"Wake up, kid, you're gonna be late again."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Froggy. It's Saturday, no classes....."

"FROGGY???!!!"

"Isn't that what 'kero' means in Japanese? I thought it was that....."

Snoring followed.

Kero's eyes narrowed as he hovered over the immobile boy. The guardian beast flew down next to Duo's ear. Just as he was about to yell, "WAKE UP!", however, a hand snapped out from underneath the blankets and grabbed him.

"Don't even try," Duo mumbled. "You've done it enough times for my eardrums to shake loose."

Struggling to pry himself loose of the American's fingers, Kero opened his mouth.

"WAKE UP!!!"

"That's it." Duo sat up. "I am going to stick you in the Relena box for the rest of the time I'm in this school. You can stare at her pictures all you want."

"IIE!!!"

"Can it, Kero, the walls are not soundproof."

"I won't yell if you don't put me in that box!"

"Fine," Duo grumbled. "I don't want to get out of bed, so leave me alone and you won't see Relena anytime soon....."

Sailing to a safe altitude above Duo's head, which was now covered by the blanket, Kero frowned with disapproval. "Why aren't you getting out of bed?" After a moment of thought, the guardian beast's mind clicked. "Don't tell me you're not going to do the play tonight?"

"I'm just getting some good, well-deserved rest," mumbled the Gundam pilot, voice muffed by the blankets.

"Ne, are you looking forward to that kiss with Heero? You two haven't done it in rehearsal, so how do you expect a perfect performance?"

"RELENA BOX....."

~*~*~*~

Ms. Pierney tapped the book in her hand with one manicured finger, the paperback muffling the sound of her nail.

She stopped, sighed, and began to tap the book again.

_The nightmare has begun,_ she thought as she stared out the window.

~*~*~*~

_I can't stop getting a feeling that something is going to happen today._

Quatre glanced around the campus, his blue eyes scanning the lingering people for familiar faces. Since it was Saturday, most students were out of the school and apparently milling around the city. Some of the crazily studious, however, were outdoors in the warmth, studying for finals. The school year _was_ almost over.

He knew Wufei was sulking in his room, or meditating, as the Chinese pilot adamantly called his activities. Quatre couldn't blame him; after all, Wufei hadn't seen the school website yet.....The debate was turning hot.

Trowa, on the other hand, was conspicuously absent. At this early in the day, the Heavyarms pilot could easily be at the library.

_He's been acting strange too, _mused the blond Arabian, running his fingers through his hair. _He and Duo both._

Choosing to sit down in the shade of a tree where no student was seated already, Quatre absently noted the clear skies and beaming sun. A lot more was on his mind than the weather.

_Duo's been strange for a while now. I think it started that time when we left him alone in the mansion for that one night. I constantly get strange emotions from him—and I can sense that they aren't as strong as they used to be. It's like there's something blocking me from looking deeper.....He's hiding something from us.....I'm sure Heero knows that and so does Wufei.....Trowa **knows **Duo's secret itself....._

_Why would Duo tell Trowa? _ Quatre felt an emotion that was oddly displaced in his mind.

_Why won't he tell **us**?_

Mentally the blond smacked himself. The five of them had their secrets. They didn't even address the skeletons in the closet to each other; it was more than enough to trust one another, considering who they were and what they did for a living.

_If Duo doesn't want to tell us, then he doesn't have to.....But why did he tell Trowa?_

"Excuse me." A baritone voice interrupted his thoughts. Quatre's head snapped up to look at the stranger standing above him. It was one of the students, a male with rather unusual green blue eyes.

"I think you dropped this," the boy said hastily, holding out a watch. Quatre suddenly realized the weight on his left wrist was gone; he glanced to check, and indeed his watch was gone. Looking at the object held out by the rather-nervous looking boy, the blonde pilot realized that it was, indeed, his 24-karat gold watch.

"Thank you," he said politely. "How did you know it was mine?" _And why did he bring it back? Especially with the worth of it....._

"Your name was engraved on the band.....I think the clasp broke." Awkwardly the boy dangled the watch. Quatre quickly accepted it from the shaking hand.

_He's feeling strange.....Like he doesn't associate with people much.....Almost like Heero, but stronger emotions, since he doesn't suppress them. _The Sandrock pilot observed the boy closely.

The hand that had held the watch was now wrapped around what the other arm was holding: a slim book with a strange, unique design on the cover, a sketch pad, a pile of large papers, and a bulky bag which Quatre supposed held supplies.

"Thanks again.....I'll be sure to get it fixed. Are you in an art class, um—" Quatre realized he was short of the boy's name. But how did that student know that he was Quatre Winner? Was he another OZ spy?

"David Luminov," the red-haired student said quickly. "Are you from L4? They say a lot of people name their sons there after the rich heir to Winner Corporation."

"It's one of the colony things, actually," Quatre answered hastily. Almost immediately he felt a slump in David's emotions. Most of what he sensed now from the teen was loneliness and yearning.

_So he's only looking for a friend.....But why me?_

"I'll just get going now....." David turned and began to walk away.

"Wait!" The blonde Arabian glanced at the watch in his hand.

_He's disappointed and unhappy. Luminov probably just wants to makes friends.....But why with me?_

Suddenly, there was a great shift in David's emotions. Quatre instinctively reached up and rubbed the area over his heart, eyebrows furrowing together and confusion.

"Is there something you want to talk about?" asked the Sandrock pilot finally, after a long moment of thought.

The boy stared at him blankly, face oddly emotionless.

"You're empathic, aren't you?"

Quatre started. "What?"

David gave him a queer look. "I can tell."

~*~*~*~

**On the school website.....**

The Results of this Week's Poll

There has been major discussions on the  
sexuality on one of our exceptional students,  
Chang Wufei, registered and in room 701 of the  
boys' dormitory. Who thinks Chang is.....

○heterosexual? --- ████ --- 15%

○homosexual? --- ██████ --- 23%

○bisexual? --- █████████ --- 35%

○transsexual? --- █ --- 4%

○asexual? --- ██████ --- 23%

Sneak Peek - Next Week's Poll:  
Who thinks Chang Wufei is a virgin? 

~*~*~*~

Heero stared at his laptop. A corner in the back of his mind told him to move and to take action in something productive, but as of now he was just thinking about how he was supposed to kiss Duo tonight.

So much for the Perfect Soldier.

_No means of escape.....Except for OZ intervention.....Cannot endanger mission._

_I have to kiss the damn baka._

_Must rehearse lines. Mind over matter; do not worry about it until it comes._

[_You were taught to be prepared for any situation,_] snapped the soldier voice in the back of his head.

If it hadn't been for the fact that there were sounds of breathing, one would have thought the figure in the chair was a statue.

[_Kissing another Gundam pilot is not an option....._]

{_It's only a damned kiss!_}

The devil.....and the angel.....were back.

That meant.....he was doomed.

_||Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like a thorn,|| _Heero found himself thinking. It was a strange habit he seemed to have picked up once he had started memorizing the script.

Quoting Romeo was **not** a way to solve his current problem.

Inwardly the pilot groaned, though it was against all his training.

_Why didn't I reject the part when I had a chance to? _he wondered. _Why did I have to tell Duo I didn't mind the kissing parts of the play? Why did I sign up for the class anyway?_

_||My only love sprung from my only hate!||_

Heero growled at himself. He had yet to master the art of thinking.....But it was far from controlling emotions. He could not squash any sudden thoughts without thinking about them first.

"Shakespeare o korosu," he mumbled.

His hands were suddenly brandishing his gun; he dismantled the pieces unconsciously, and put them together again.

_||For stony limits cannot hold love out.||_

Dimly the Wing pilot wondered how the other pilots were faring.....and what Duo was doing right now.....

~*~*~*~

"I am **NOT** getting up, Kero!"

"You can't hide in bed all day."

"Then I'll pretend I'm sick or something."

"Then your over-paranoid boyfriend will kiss your replacement." Kero floated about over Duo's head, quickly becoming an annoyance.

_||A pair of star-crossed lovers.|| A pair of idiots too,_ the guardian thought.

"Will you shut up? You have a lot to say for someone who's about to be imprisoned once more with Relena pictures."

"Don't threaten me, young man, I am the guardian beast of the Sakura Cards—"

"I heard you the first time, you peevish old baka."

"I am not half the baka you are, Duo, if you're going to insist on staying in bed. Fine, you stay in there, and Heero can kiss your replacement, which I am sure is most likely one of those girls that are dying to get kissed by your 'hunk' of a boyfriend."

"If he lets her kiss him."

"You know him better than I do and you know that'll appear in his mind as, 'suspicious'."

"Shut up."

"If you're afraid of being abhorred because you're homosexual, Duo, you don't have to worry. Landew kicks out anyone with problems."

"First of all, I'm bi, and no, it's not that."

"If you're afraid that Heero isn't gay, then don't worry either because he's either that or he's what you are."

"How do you know?"

"Do you think he could have pushed the Romeo part when he had the chance?"

Throwing the pillow that was covering his head away, Duo dumped his arms to his sides, staring up at the ceiling.

"There's already a number of thoughts muddling my head, Kero, I don't need your contributions."

The small guardian was perched on top of Duo's textbook pile. He looked at the Card Captor, suddenly still and silent.

_After all this time, I still don't know how to deal with him. He's not Sakura; I should have realized that from the beginning. Sakura loved the cards like her own and her way of living was simple: she just wanted peace and happiness for those around her. He's not Clow Reed either; even if I didn't understand Clow Reed, I understood that whatever he did he would do it for the cards and for Yue and I. Duo's a far cry from both of them; once or twice I have thought he was propelled to action for the cards, but then he turns around and suddenly he's not thinking about the cards anymore, but about his friends. The only one thing I'm certain about right now is that Duo doesn't care much about himself. His emotions and actions make him a person all the more hard to decipher....._

"Kero? You okay?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Kero realized that the American pilot was sitting up in his bed, staring rather intently at him.

"You're getting up?"

Duo glanced out the window in his room, where bright rays of late morning were plunging into the room.

"Yeah. Might as well. I'm going to have to get up later anyway." He sighed and kicked off his blankets, planting his feet on the floor. Duo stood and reached the bathroom in two short strides, taking care to step over his school uniform and his bag. "I guess running nor hiding is a good choice in this matter, and Heero would probably say I wasn't acting normal, that I'm endangering our positions, yada, yada, yada."

Kero stood and jumped off the unwieldy stack of books, floating over to Duo's temporary desk drawer. It opened with a little magic; Kero hovered over the Sakura Book, staring at the pink cover of the magical book. The seal opened with a spark and hiss, the cover opening to reveal the stack of cards inside.

_He's lucky he acted quick and crushed some of the cards back into the book when he released them,_ the guardian thought. _But still, he's going to repeat history.....And face Yue in judgment again, like Sakura did. Only I hope that none of his friends is the moon guardian he has to defeat......_

"What time is it anyway, Kero?"

Glancing at the digital numbers on the alarm clock, Kero answered back truthfully. "It's nearly 1030."

"Damn. That means I missed breakfast."

"Hai."

"And _someone _ate all my junk food and snacks.....I fail to mention a name."

Coughing answered the Deathscythe pilot, who was currently rebraiding his hair. Running his fingers through his bangs, Duo hopped out of the bathroom and dug around his clothes, pulling out a pair of wrinkled but fresh pair of black jeans. He grabbed a white tank and another black t-shirt, struggling to find his socks.

"Just because you like black..."

"Can it, Kero. I dress in what color fits my mood."

"You dress in black in every mood," the guardian beast muttered.

"And my hearing is better than you think," the pilot retorted, yanking out socks and then shoving his feet into sneakers, fingers nimbly lacing them.

Just as Kero opened his mouth to send another remark, both felt the tingling in the backs of their minds. Their eyes locked.

"Sakura Card!"

~*~*~*~

**SMASH!!!**

The computer teacher jumped as the door crashed into the wall and remained stuck in the plaster.

One furious, demonic-looking Chinese teenager stood in the doorway; a long, thin, _sharp_ blade was held tightly in both hands of the proprietor.

Two other students present in the room grabbed their books, flattened themselves against the wall closest to the door, and slid out as Chang Wufei stepped in slowly.

He ignored them, focused on the target of his mission.

As the Nataku pilot crept closer, the computer teacher remained frozen in his seat. He gulped.

~*~*~*~

Quatre was startled. Blinking several times to regain his composure, the blonde Arabian's eyes narrowed.

"Who are you?"

David smiled faintly. "I'm someone who's just as confused as you are, Quatre Winner. Don't forsake your friends, and they will not forsake you."

"What are talking about?" Quatre was taken aback.

"One of your friends will need your help when time comes." The redhead backed away, and disappeared in the gathering crowd behind him. "Don't forsake him!" Quatre heard David call.

One hand clutching his watch, the blonde glanced at the faces amidst the students, but could not find David. But what caught the attention of the other students also caught his, and once he looked up to see what the commotion was all about, Quatre promptly forgot that David even existed.

For what was evidently a nice, big, unfamiliar Gundam was standing right next to the school.

It loomed over the campus, shadowing the area from the sun. The shining blue-gray armor shone; on one of the enormous arms an unknown blaster was mounted, looking very deadly and cool at the same time. There were minor differences between the existing five Gundams and this one, and with Quatre's analytical eye, the new machine appeared to have been built from bits and pieces of the other suits, with an addition of several new objects like that blaster.

_Where had it come from? I've never seen one like this before! The colors—they're different, but the Gundam looks a lot like Sandrock.....How could it have been built with the scientists finding out? Is it from OZ? _Eyes widening, Quatre moved from under the shade of the tree to attain a better view.

Only to find out another unfamiliar Gundam was flying in behind.

"Allah," he breathed, and quickly backtracked out of the crowds and ran for the dormitory buildings.

Heero wasn't going to be happy with this sudden new development. Distantly Quatre wondered if he should just tell Trowa and leave the job up to the taciturn pilot.

~*~*~*~

"What the hell—"

"What the heck—"

Duo picked himself up quickly and grabbed Nakuru's arm, dragging her up for her position in the floor. The American had just jumped stairs down to the lobby and, in his rush to get out of the building and find the source of the Sakura Card, found himself in a head-on crash with the second Moon Guardian.

"Come on, Nakuru, let's GO!" She stumbled after his fast-paced walk, struggling to catch up with the pilot as his grip on her arm allowed little room to do anything else.

Kero popped out of the backpack hanging from one of Duo's shoulders, jostled by the chestnut-haired teenager's current movements. "You sensed the Sakura Card?" he prompted.

Nakuru, having managed to pull her arm out of the grip of the L2 pilot, only nodded in response. Despite her longer legs, the brown-haired guardian found it hard to keep up with Duo's pace.

Suddenly, the pilot stopped dead in his tracks, and was rudely jolted as Nakuru slammed to a halt into him. Both regained their balance quickly, and Nakuru glanced up at what had caught Duo's attention.

She openly gaped.

Of course, it's not everyday you see a Gundam on your school campus.

_There's two more coming, _ she realized, the rumble of engines not escaping her sharp, magic-enhanced hearing. _But how.....Unless it's one of **theirs**....._

"Duo—"

"It's not," he cut in, violet eyes still focused on the two flying in. One of them was definitely designed according to Wing ; though the colors were different, Duo noted the lines and shapes of the now-landing Gundam. The _wings_ were there too, damnit, and someone was a mad copycat.

He slid into a small, hidden area between two shadowy buildings, and tossed the bag (and Kero) to Nakuru. The yellow guardian beast yelped loudly and disappeared within, just as Nakuru caught it.

"Release! Sleep Card!"

Having crawled out again with some difficulty, Kero emerged groggily. "He's been using_ that _card an awful lot lately....."

"He can't always erase the minds of so many people," Nakuru said pointedly. "And not to mention he still has his 'pilot' secrets to keep."

"Hai, I know that.....But when Sakura was card-hunting she used the Sleep Card only occasionally. The cards isolated themselves, and they were usually found alone....." Kero trailed off. Had something changed the cards over time?

It was an unnerving thought, and Kero shook it off. _I'll check the cards later_, he decided. _And worry about the problem at hand now_.

While Kero was disturbed by his thoughts and calculations, Sleep swept the city, knocking every living being into oblivion.

A few blocks away from the school a robber dropped his gun into the lap of the storeowner as he fell facedown onto the floor, unconscious. The storeowner barely had enough to register the neutralized threat before passing out.

In the classroom of the head of the computer department, a certain Chinese pilot teetered a bit before tumbling to the ground, katana still held tightly in one hand.

When Sleep returned to the Card Captor, the city was nearly silent.

Nearly. The only exceptions were the loud rumbling Gundams, of course.

Duo, followed by Nakuru and Kero (who was now free of the bag), dashed towards the metal giants. The other two had landed; a beam saber had miraculously appeared in the huge hand of the one closest to them, and the Gundam swung the tip until it pointed to Duo. He skidded to a stop.

"Okay, Kero, you have any suggestions?" the American asked, eyes not leaving the saber aimed at them. The knuckles on the hand holding the staff were turning white.

"Create," Kero and Nakuru said in unison. The two shot looks at each other.

"So any bright ideas?" All of Duo's muscles were tense. _ Gundams, of all things to pull up. Gundams! The card couldn't wreak havoc with something less??? Why create something as deadly and destructive as a Gundam?_

"Defeat them."

A new voice spoke, and the three of them tore their eyes from the Gundams to the lone figure standing several yards away from them. It was a student, quite awake, red hair gleaming in the sunlight. The unblinking eyes of the red-haired teen, however, were a grayish-white. The student spoke again, an unearthly voice rumbling from his throat.

"Defeat them," he repeated, "defeat them in a fight, and you will receive the Sakura card you seek."

Nakuru's eyes narrowed and ed in on the slim volume held in the right hand of the student. Magical vibes were emanating from it.

"The book in his hand, Duo.....It's the Create Card!"

The American glanced at Nakuru, and then at Kero, who nodded. His mind was racing as his eyes went back to the Gundams. How could he defeat them? They were big, possessed lethal weapons, and had Gundanium armor, no doubt. And even with his extra strength from having carried metal around as a mechanic wouldn't help much.....

_I can't go get my Gundam now.....Well, then I'm going to have to beat them with a few choice cards.....The Mist is not an option, I might damage some other buildings in the area, and even if this ends up being a full fledged battle, I'm going to have to move somewhere else._

He looked into the glowing eyes of the motionless Gundams, pulling out the stack of Sakura Cards. Duo knew precisely what cards he would use.

"Fly!"

Hopping aboard his portable transport, Duo zipped up and away from the campus. The Gundams immediately came to life, thrusters flaring and lifting off the ground to follow the American Card Captor. Kero followed shortly, while Nakuru transformed into Ruby Moon and soared into the air. The only one left was the redheaded student.

David Luminov smiled, white eyes following the Gundams and guardians out of sight. He sat down on a nearby bench and waited.

~*~*~*~

_Clear area_, Duo noted. It was just outside the city, a large field of grassland that was more than enough to fit three Gundams and a Card Captor/Gundam pilot.

Duo dove down, flying further out to avoid the last of the buildings. The American slowed and landed smoothly (though his outstretched feet kicked up some dirt), quickly drawing another card.

"Big Card!"

Nakuru and Kero kept their distance respectively once they saw the growing teenager.

"This is going to get really wild," Kero muttered. Ruby Moon rolled her eyes in response.

"For once I am taller than Trowa." Duo looked at his feet. "I'm the size of Deathscythe."

The other Gundams remained suspended in the air, waiting for him to make the first move. Their eerie eyes stared blankly.

Resuming his normal battle manner, Duo grinned impishly. He shoved the cards back into his pocket, and drew three at once.

"Release!"

Winds blasted in all directions; his magic sliced through the air like a knife. Duo's loud voice, intensified by his growth, rumbled and echoed. Even Kero, accustomed to the loudest of noises, had to cover his ears.

Surges of energy and magic flowed in the L2 pilot's veins. He could feel the power of the cards inside him, strengthening him.

And Duo sprang into action. The Jump Card carried him high in the air, and Duo breathed in a gulp of thin air, before falling down towards the surface of earth again. Before landing, however, he bashed in one of the three Gundams easily with the aid of the Power card.

The Gundam disappeared, leaving the other two.

Both of them moved at once; the one resembling Sandrock suddenly burst, guns and blasters and missile launchers all ejected at the same time. Clone "Wing " circled behind Duo, the beam saber in its hand as red hot as ever. Its other arm rose from its side, and morphed into a beam cannon, charging power fast.

"Oh boy....."

Clone "Sandrock/Heavyarms" opened fire.

Clone "Wing " released the charge in the beam cannon.

"Shield!"

_The sounds of explosions are so much louder when you're not inside a Gundam, _he thought as fire rained on the Shield. Duo could feel the strain on the card as it withstood the missiles crashing into it. Clone "Wing " had added a great impact with the beam cannon. _Shield might not last until it runs out of ammo, _realized the pilot.

In a split second he made a decision.

Duo crouched and sprung high in the air again, sliding out of Shield's protection.

"Sword!"

The Gundam stopped firing too late. Duo slashed and cut through the metal, shearing it in half. It erupted into a shower of sparkles, dissipating within seconds. Duo whirled around, facing the last Gundam. The beam saber swung towards him.

It had definitely sped up. Sword, thankfully, was able to withstand extreme heat (either that or it was some kind of unknown magic that Duo had to ask Kero about—the metal wasn't as much as blackened by a _beam_ saber), and Duo's reflexes made up for the sudden attacks.

_Do I have the space and time to throw another card in? _thought the American. _Nope, can't do that.....Besides, I have released THAT card and it's coming in handy now._

For their view in the distance, Kero and Ruby Moon stared at the exchange of blows.

"Kero, since when did Duo learn how to duel like a swordsman?"

"Maybe you should be thinking which card is assisting him in this skirmish here."

"Skirmish? We're talking about a giant battle between two giants: one of metal and the other of flesh—Duo!"

He could feel the heat of the laser beam as it came dangerously close to the side of his head. Out of instinct Duo yelled, "Watch the braid!"

Ruby and Kero stared.

_They must think I'm crazy, _Duo decided, leaping up into the air. Somehow he performed some kamikaze martial arts move, foot plunging into the armor of the Gundam. With Power still residing in his body, it left a notable dent (or more like a caved-in chest).

The Gundam paused long enough for Duo to slash straight through its middle.

A burst of light greeted the American, who was thrown back by a rippling wave of magic. The cards immediately pulled out of him; Duo shrank back to his normal size and began to plummet towards the earth.

It was a good thing Ruby Moon had good reflexes as well. She caught him in midair several yards above his death. When the two landed, six cards were hovering over them.

Duo held out one hand to catch them. "Shield, Sword, Jump, Big, Power—"

"And Fight." Ruby eyed the last card to slide into his fingers. "No wonder you were suddenly such a black belt."

"I had to come up with the right combination of cards," he told her. Kero swooped down, a card held in his hand (paw?) as well.

"The Create, Duo," the guardian said quietly, holding it out. Duo took it, examining the picture of a book on the card.

"It could possibly be the most dangerous card of the deck if used properly," he whispered.

Slight winds whistled through the field, as if signaling the calm before a storm.....

~*~*~*~

**Kero**

_I don't like what is going on._

_The cards.....They're developing personalities, human forms, and their emotions are stronger than they were before. Had all those years humanized them?_

_Their strength has also intensified. Duo is very powerful himself, or I doubt that he could have captured and fought so many cards. I think he may actually be more powerful than Clow Reed; his strength grows with each card he captures.....But until the Final Judgment, I cannot fathom how deep his magic is._

_Somehow I get the feeling that it is going to be a far cry away from the problems Sakura had._

_On the far bad side, that is._

~*~*~*~

The activities of the day continued shortly after. Everyone, despite having woke up in strange circumstances, had things to do, and went back to their lives, ignorant as to what happened.

Wufei managed to nudge the computer teacher into deleting the poll and completely destroying all the files of the site dealing with him. Several robbers were caught, and it satisfied the police well enough.

However, there were _some_ things that couldn't be avoided.

Nakuru, holding Kero in her hands, looked into the large auditorium of the school. "They're going to be awful," she murmured.

The guardian grinned; the place where Nakuru was standing was safe and he didn't need to worry about anyone catching him animated. "That's why I gave a few suggestions to Duo....."

She glanced down at him. "Don't tell me he's going to.....you-know-what?"

In response, Kero nodded in an overly-solemn way.

An indignant look appeared on Nakuru's face. "And you're _supposed_ to be a guardian of the cards!" she hissed.

"Relax, Moony, since when were you ever so uptight about rules? I thought you were a carefree person!"

"MOONY???"

"Shh, Nakuru, don't be so loud! There are people who are going to get suspicious." Kero continued. "Duo's been under a lot of stress lately, and I think it'll be okay for him to use the cards to help him in some tight situations. But he won't dare use Mirror, Akizuki, so don't be worried."

"I'm not worried!" she snapped. Then Nakuru calmed a bit, controlling her breath. It was a few seconds before she spoke again.

"I paid a visit to you-know-who today, after Duo captured Create," said she, her voice low. "I asked him something that was on my mind lately, Keroberos.....A question about what was going to happen to the cards. After Duo captures them all. After he....." 

Here she trailed off.

Silent also, Kero sat coolly in her arms. He didn't blink.

"Not even _he_ knows what will happen," whispered Nakuru. "You sensed the great differences in the cards as well, haven't you, Keroberos?"

"Hai.....I have thought long about it; now, however, I am not concerned." He raised his head and craned his neck to look up at the second moon guardian. "I believe in Duo and I think that when the time comes, he will be able to pass the Final Judgment.....And I think he will prevail against anything thrown at him. The cards _chose_ him, Ruby Moon, and don't forget that. Clow Reed's incarnation, perhaps, is not apprehensive either. He trusts the cards, and maybe even Duo. No matter what happens, he will face it."

"......I think you've been hanging around Yue too much."

"Don't you _dare_ say that again. I will kill you for comparing me to Yue."

"And Heero too."

"Baka."

"And you're supposed to be a little, cute stuffed animal."

"YOU CALLED ME A WHAT???"

Several people nearby now turned and stared. Nakuru gave them a sheepish look, pushing Kero into her purse.

~*~*~*~

It wasn't always bad to be a Card Captor, Duo decided. Especially when the students of your drama class had no acting skill. And, so, he 'created' a bit of performing talent.....And had another card sitting behind the lines to change their voices. Simple as that.

Of course when the play started they were a bit bewildered about their sudden booming voices and realistic gestures. But he could tell they settled into it naturally, growing confident.

Duo still stalked around backstage, nearly stepping on the hem of 'his' skirts. The Italian outfit of a lady of that time period was less than comfortable, even if it was just a costume. Not to mention that fact that he was a male; at least Pierney did not make him wear.....you-know-whats. The things that were usually on a girl's chest. The American was sure he would kill somebody, or kill himself, before he wore those things for a play.

And there was **PINK** lace on it. **PINK** lace.

_Someone_ had damned him to hell.

He caught Heero in full uniform out of the corner of his eyes, and rubbed his temples. He only hoped that the temporary 'emotions' he 'created' would help the Wing pilot a bit.

_At least Wufei isn't laughing at me, _the American thought miserably. _Is this qualified as crossdressing for a mission?_

Sighing, he wandered back into one of the rooms storing props. Duo plopped down on a sturdy-looking trunk, elbows resting on his knees.

_Quatre, dressed up as the Prince of Verona, is definitely in his element. Trowa looks.....His hair is fine for hair in the 16th century AD....Wufei, with that collar cuffed up around his neck, looks stiffer than he had even been with a stick up his rear end. Heero on the other hand....._

A green tanktop and spandex shorts suited the Japanese teen well in odd cases. Dressed up in the full fashions of the Elizabethan Age, however, he could only be called one thing: gallant. He stood ramrod straight, but didn't look as false as Wufei did, nor as comfortable as Quatre was. Heero was just.....Heero. All the more the damned Perfect Soldier.

_Kero **was** right, I **do** have serious issues, _ Duo moaned in his head.

Without warning, the door to the small room slammed shut. He looked up, the tingle of magic awakening again in the back of his mind. Duo stood swiftly, hand immediately clasping around the Star key hanging from his neck.

The doorknob had been replaced by a large and strange-looking lock. The fine craftsmanship was doubtlessly magical; he could sense the slight power radiating from the object.

_Ai, Clow Reed, of all the magical things you could make, you made a lock???_ Duo sighed and pulled the chain holding the Star key off his neck, dangling it in from of him.

However, yet another unknown factor threw itself in. Duo felt the ground shake beneath him, and the room was suddenly enveloped in darkness, void of any light. He felt dizzy; there was no sense of direction, no way for him to move. The world felt upside down; he could see the door, the door with the magical lock on it. It was only a few feet away from him.....

[(_Card Captor....._)]

Echoes of a distant voice reverberated in his ears; the American ignored it, and concentrated on the door.

He had to find some way out. Settling an unfocused stare at the key in his hand, Duo slowly stretched his arm out above him. The words of the incantation came unsteadily to his lips.

"Release!"

Nothing happened. The circle of the Star did not appear; the key remained a key. If more so than ever, an invisible force pressed on him from all sides. He was suffocating, he was trapped—

In his mind's eye Duo could see flashes of L2.

_No, no, I'm not going to think about it, I won't think about it, I'm not dying here, I'll get to the door on my own if I have too—I'M NOT DYING HERE!!!_

"I'm not dying here," he whispered. "I won't let a card kill me....."

A dark swirl of winds gathered in front of his exit, blocking his escape route. Duo stared at it, vision blurred. The figure was obscured by darkness, but from the shadowy built, it was a woman.

[(_You will be free soon, Card Captor, but hear our words first....._)]

His fingers closed tightly around the Star Key, nails digging into his skin.

"What the hell do you want?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth did a speck of light materialize high above his head. The pilot squinted, the brightness stinging his eyes. Beams of luminescence covered the darkness, encasing him in warmth. Duo could see the dark figure clearly now; her pale skin stood out from the dark dress she wore, jet black hair tumbling from a crown atop her head.

Rays spreading from the star changed into ribbons, building yet another form beside the dark lady. They became a woman nearly identical to the dark one, but dressed in white.

Duo blinked, violet eyes opening wide as his strength returned replenished.

_Keroberos had talked about them.....The two most powerful cards next to the elementals.....Light.....and Dark....._

Both of them linked hands, and turned to face him. Duo thought they looked ethereal, statues of perfection in the brilliance of their power.

In a remote corner of his brain he registered the ridiculous outfit he had on.

[(_Card Captor....._)]

Now they spoke for the third time, in unison.

[(_You will face greater challenges than the Card Mistress Sakura before you.....Your bonds with those around you will be tested to their limits, and as long as you hold faith in them you will prevail....._)]

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked, voice uncharacteristically low. "What is going to happen.....Why can't you tell me?"

They regarded him silently, and then answered.

[(_You fight a war.....Do not let your experiences harm you, or change your beliefs, and you will be prepared for the future that awaits.....Your dreams will tell you soon enough.....Beware how you use the cards.....They are dangerous, and not weapons of war....._)]

Their bodies were fading, dissipating. Duo finally found his feet and moved forward in alarm.

"Wait!"

The abyss of light disappeared; the American pilot found himself once again in the room of props. Three cards shimmered to existence in his hand; Duo stared at them, for once not abhorring their color.

[(_Remember.....Keep true to your heart, and it will guide you....._)]

It echoed in his head; Duo blinked at them, fingers shaking slightly.

The Light, the Dark, and the Lock.

He was three steps closer to completing this mission.

And he was three steps closer to the fate that awaited him. 

~*~*~*~

"When the devout religion of mine eye  
Maintains such falsehood, then turn tears to fire;  
And these who, often drowned, could never die,  
Transparent heretics, be burnt for liars.  
One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun  
Ne'er saw her match since the world first begun."  
Act I, Scene III

Quatre had been receiving strange vibes. And he was staring at Heero, who had quickly recovered from his slightly nonplussed look earlier and continued the show.

_His words sound.....powerful. And emotional. Powerful may be a trait of Heero's but not in that kind of sense. The second one is definitely not a mannerism of his. Something really strange is going on here....._

_Duo._

The blond glanced around the backstage area, noticing the American's absence. A small frown appeared on his face.

_It's **those** feelings again.....Every single time a strange event occurs or when I pass out, this always happens. _Quatre glanced at Trowa/Mercutio. _Should I ask him.....No, I'll be bothering him....._

Just then he noticed Duo emerging from one of the back rooms, and the next scene started. As the chestnut-haired pilot passed the Arabian he flashed Quatre a quick smile, and then went onstage.

Heero looked.....There were no words to describe the expression on his face. Or made it wasn't an expression at all. The Japanese teen marched away from the stage

"Heero?" Quatre questioned, unsure of the pilot's reaction. The Wing pilot inclined his head towards the blond. "Are you feeling okay?"

The Japanese pilot didn't answer; he wasn't sure himself.

_Need retraining, need retraining, cannot be emotional, error.....Failure....._

Trowa was watching them from the corner of his eye. He knew that Quatre was worried about Duo; the blond had been for a while. Often the tall pilot wondered if he should just tell them.....Or tell Duo to. Heero and Wufei were slightly unnerved around the American; they weren't sure what new thing Duo was hiding.

_We keep so many secrets from one another.....Keroberos was right._

He felt a tap on his shoulder. Trowa stared at Wufei, who looked oddly....._nervous_. The black-haired teen stared back at the tall pilot for a long moment, and then, finally, asked:

"Do you think I'm.....not straight?"

"....."

The Heavyarms pilot debated if it would be safe to answer. He had, after all, voted Wufei homosexual.....

It was a good idea not to say anything at all.

A_ very_ good idea. 

~*~*~*~

"Damn hell I can't stand this much longer....."

Duo stared at the dented mirror in front of him. Pierney had wanted them the least discomfort and she herself wanted the best for last.....Heero obligingly kissed him on the cheeks for the fifth scene.....At that time the American was sure that he didn't need all the makeup on his face; his cheeks went so hot he became dizzy.

And all the crazy eloquence was making him even more jumpy.

_Gods, why couldn't Heero **not** sign us up for drama? _he moaned inside his head.

"Excuse me, Duo, can we talk? For a moment?"

His head slowly turned, creating the effect of dread. Quatre stood next to him, eyes looking.....unreadable.

_When had they all become Heero? _Duo wondered, blinking benignly. Then he grinned and relaxed, letting go of the kissing issue for the moment. "Shoot, Quat."

"Has there.....been something.....you've—" Quatre seemed to have a sudden lack of words.

"Something I've been hiding?" interrupted Duo, eyes going back to the mirror. The blond stopped talking, staring at the American.

Quatre swallowed. "It's just that.....Lately I've been getting abnormal feelings from everywhere.....And there's all these strange occurrences.....I'm beginning to understand you less, Duo, and it's like you're somehow unconsciously closing up and drifting away.....You're my friend, and I think....."

//_Don't forsake your friends, and they will not forsake you....._//

"I know," the violet-eyed teen answered slowly, closing his eyes. "Look, Quatre, we're all keeping secrets from one another anyway.....And I don't want to let you know yet. You know how much I value promises.....I promise I will tell you, and the rest of the guys, when I'm ready to. I don't like hiding things from you either, or any of them. But it's my decision right now, and as a friend, I hope you will respect it."

The Arabian gazed at Duo for a short moment. He glanced at Trowa, who was watching them out of the corner of his eye from his position near the stage. Blinking, he bit his lip and stared at the ground between them. Suddenly the area around them seemed quiet and empty. Duo had opened his eyes and was staring at him through the mirror.

"You know Trowa knows my secret, don't you?"

".....Hai."

"Then why didn't you ask him?"

Starting, Quatre replied a little too fast. "I don't want to bother him."

Duo's eyes met with Quatre's in the reflection. There was quite a malicious glint in them.

"Really?" drawled the American pilot. "Well, we'll have to see what Trowa thinks about that....."

"Don't you dare, Duo Maxwell, or I'll make sure....."

"Make sure of what?"

".....Make sure Heero will know a little something too."

Scowling, Duo gave Quatre a look. "You're not as nice as you look."

The Sandrock pilot smiled in return. "Thank you."

//_Your bonds with those around you will be tested to their limits, and as long as you hold faith in them you will prevail....._//

~*~*~*~

_It's so hard to play dead....._

Voices of the other students floated around him as he lay prostrate on the bed, hair hiding his face well from view. Duo's mind was running along something else, rather than watching the performance.

_It seems so long since we've arrived at Landew, _he thought. _And now we're leaving in a few days....._

Remembering the capture of Snow and Storm, Duo laughed silently, thinking of the reactions of Nakuru and Kero in seeing each other again. Now the two of them could actually sit down without Kero making a loud buzz. The one thing that hadn't changed, however, was the way Nakuru seemed to poke him about Heero.....

_Wu still hasn't resolved his 'issues'. The mission has been completed, and now maybe Landew can rest in peace. The dilemma with Heero can hopefully end with the history here._

_There was Eriol.....He told me that the key to my power lies within my heart.....Why do they all hide from me? They can't answer my questions, and won't tell me what's going on.....Not even Kero._

Time stretched; the motion all around him slowed, and Duo forgot completely about them, immersed in his reflections. He recalled the conversation Eriol and he had, the exact words coming to his head suddenly. 

**[flashback]**

"You have something to say to me?"

Eriol waved an arm at one of the stacks of books; a book drew itself out of the pile and floated over to the stand the ghost stood by, dropping onto the wood and flipping open on its own. Duo waited expectantly, eyes never leaving the reincarnation of Clow Reed.

"I can tell you have much to ask," the ghost answered quietly.

The Deathscythe pilot smiled weakly. "I think you would have much to ask if you suddenly became someone you never believed you would have become."

Eyes flickering towards him for a brief second, Eriol returned to his book and hovered in front of it, one finger waving slowly through the air. A page turned.

"Well then, ask away."

"Is there something in this whole business that I don't know about?"

For a moment there was silence. Then Eriol's soft, intoning voice spoke.

"Hai, Card Captor, there are things not even Keroberos can tell you.....You will find out when the time comes. Now is not that time."

Duo stared at him. The pilot shook his head and looked away out the window, motionless. He spoke again.

"It seems like there's no one here who can give me the answers to my questions," Duo stated quietly. "Why can't I know some of these things.....until it is time?"

"There are many things that can blow off the balance of your destiny, Duo. It is safer this way."

The teen gave a short huff of air, rolling his eyes. "I think I've heard that too many times, Eriol. Your answers are only making my life more miserable.....I can't even know what will happen after I capture all the cards. What will happen? Will something even occur? There are so many secrets....."

The ghost skimmed the pages of the book. "There must be secrets, Duo, by now I would have thought you understood. What will happen after you capture all the cards will happen.....You will see. But even now the future is constantly changing with every decision you make. With every decision we _all_ make. The fate of the cards is not quite that simple....."

Not answering, Duo continued to stare out the window at the park across the street.

"I wish it could be much simpler.....But that is what happens when you create something meant to be powerful and dangerous."

"Why did you.....Why did Clow Reed create the cards then?"

Their eyes met, and both held the gaze of the other. Eriol's eyes did not flicker.

"They were once powerful spirits, spirits that could have done much damage had they not been captured and controlled. Their care was entrusted to Clow Reed, and he in turn transformed them into cards to make sure that they could be constrained. They will pass from one to the next, no matter how long it takes."

"Then why was I chosen?" whispered the American. "Why did I have to become Card Captor? Why couldn't it be someone else?"

Eriol went back to his book, turning another page. The sound of paper rattled through the silent room, seeming unnaturally loud.

"The cards are careful about who they choose," he said calmly. "Even I am not sure of how the cards work. You have been selected, Duo, perhaps not only because of your potential in magic, but also because you have the spirit and soul to carry out the tasks set for you to keep others from harm. The key to your power lies in your heart.....Remember that." 

**[end flashback]**

_The key to my power.....lies within my heart....._

He closed his eyes, waiting once again for the scene to finish. It was getting closer and closer to that time.....

_Maybe I should follow my own example to Quatre. Kero has his secrets to keep, and I can't force him to tell me anything. If now is a time of considerable happiness, then I'll be ignorant until time comes._

_Until then._

Snow, Storm, Twin, Freeze, Mist, Erase, Create, Lock, and Light and Dark. So it was true that the cards will follow the Card Captor.....Or at least they had union.

In the future he would face whatever came his way.

As of now, he wasn't sure about the ending of the play.

~*~*~*~

Kero was grinning in a very silly, very goofy way. Nakuru had long since whispered to him to stop it, but the guardian remained immobile, with the same cheesy smile on his face.

"I can't wait until those two get off their butts and kiss," he said through his teeth.

Nakuru, having safely chosen a remote position in the back corner of the auditorium, smiled accordingly to the students around her before saying out of the corner of her mouth, "You still look ridiculous."

Suddenly his fur went all on their ends. Kero sensed trouble.....

"What's wrong?" hissed the moon guardian.

"I don't know.....But something is coming....."

~*~*~*~

"A light'ning before death! O, how may I  
Call this a light'ning?—O my love, my wife,  
Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath,  
Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty."  
Act V, Scene III

**Author's Note: First of all, since I have such a bad memory, I'm just going to thank the book I have with the play in it. And a light'ning is supposed to be a lifting of the spirits.....**

Heero stared blankly as he recited his lines, them somehow coming out more emotional than he intended them to be.

_I can't believe I'm calling him my wife._

The un-Perfect Soldier thought nearly made him cringe. Everything seemed so different, so out of place—

"Arms, take your last embrace. And, lips, O, you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss, a dateless bargain to engrossing death."

Time _stretched_. All of the sudden everything was very real; Duo lay inert in front of him, waiting.....

Now _where_ did he get the idea Duo was waiting for him?

_Must.....complete.....mission....._

Taking a short breath, Heero closed his eyes and leaned in, pressing his lips on Duo's.

The result was more electrifying than both expected. It seemed like eons passed; everyone didn't exist, and they were only aware of each other.

_This is against the book, _the Perfect Soldier scolded, but Heero ignored him, staring at Duo's reddening face. The American.....Was he flushing from lack of air, or _blushing_?

_Hell, and I have to kiss him again later.....Being Juliet really.....sucks? rocks? _Duo kept his eyes shut tight, not wanting to see the expression on Heero's face.

"They're not going to start making out on the stage, are they?" Nakuru said in a hushed whisper. Kero was staring at the entrances to the auditorium, getting the feeling that someone was going to come in.....

"HEEEEEERRRROOOOOO!!!"

"Kuso!" Kero stared at the doorway. SHE was coming, she was going to walk in.....

And walk in SHE did. But, unfortunately, she caught sight of Heero kissing another girl on the stage.....

And turned green.

"Get her out of here!" hissed Kero. Nakuru didn't need to be told twice; she left her seat swiftly and dashed to the frozen Relena Peacecraft's side, grabbing the princess's elbow and dragging her out of the auditorium and out of the building.

All's well ends well.....

Heero, feeling rather relieved, finally broke away from Duo. It took the Wing pilot a short time to recover, but both knew that they wouldn't be forgetting what happened anytime soon. Even if they were going to leave the school, some things would come out in the open.....

//_Remember.....Keep true to your heart, and it will guide you....._//

~*~*~*~

Number of cards left to be captured - 8  
Card captured in this chapter - Create, Lock, Light, Dark

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS!!!

Excuse me.


	11. Changing

Alright, I admit it, I'm a slowpoke. And I'm picky. And whatever. The story is over one year old, and I've written only eleven chapters. Sorry to keep everyone waiting for the past three months, but June was an extremely busy month. I'm constantly getting stuck in certain parts, and everything has been hellishly insane. And.....after this summer, I might be so busy I won't be able to update for long periods of time, so I'll try my best to write up the rest of the story.

Thanks for all the reviews. I didn't think it would do so well when I first posted. And Gundam Wing isn't mine, as is Card Captor Sakura. Blah. Just read.

And.....a last note: just to be safe, the characters in here are VERY OOC.

Chapter XI - _Changing_

He was only going out for a walk. Of course, having a beach house as a safehouse had its advantages. The scenic views of the water was only the best thing during a sunset stroll. The only noises disrupting the isolated beach (the area was surrounded by forest) were the crashing of the waves and the sounds of nature. Perfect during a cloudless evening, right?

Wrong.

Trowa had begun to hear strange yelling and curses when he walked near the trees. Carefully treading through a small portion of the fairly thick woods, he emerged in a separate sandy clearing to find Duo and a speedy yellow guardian hopping all around, chasing what appeared to be a white ball of.....spikes? fur? He had no clue.

"Trowa!" Duo yelled, startled to a stop. Kero, however, continued to pursue the white thing.....

.....Which, unfortunately leapt up on the tall uni-banged pilot and landed on his chest. Kero, quick as ever to react, latched onto the fur ball's back.

Wrong thing to do.

Both of them glowed slightly. In a panic, Kero released his hold as the thing shook him off; then it snaked up to take refuge in Trowa's long bangs.

"That's it, Kero," sighed Duo. "Time!"

All movement ceased, and Kero fell to the ground, staring strangely at him. Duo, not paying the guardian any attention, struck the blue-white figure, now revealed to be a rat of some sort, with his staff.

"Change Card! Return to your power confined!"

**Author's Note: I'll give you five seconds to figure what went wrong here.....**

Duo held out his hand, letting the card drop into his palm. It was plain (and PINK), with only the picture of a red-eyed mouse/lizard (?) with a curly tail on it. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Trowa staring at his own hands with an odd expression.

"Tro? Something wrong?"

The tall pilot's eyes looked like they were about to pop out as he examined for what seemed like the first time his fingers and skin. Kero sat up on the ground, staring up at the Heavyarms pilot.

"HOOOOOEEEEE!!!!!"

The American simply gawked, jaw hanging on its hinges. He did not just hear Trowa scream some unintelligible word, he did not just hear the taciturn, near-silent clown shout, he did not.....

"Duo, this is very, very wrong," Trowa said, his words coming out faster than Duo had ever heard him say it. The tall teen actually _ looked_ panicked; he had an _expression_ on his face.

Damn.

"Look, I think you may be in shock over something that affects you least, so—"

Raising one hand, Trowa (or at least the person) slapped the stunned American. Duo swung out of his stupor, instinctively punching in retaliation.

He walloped the taller pilot in his midsection, causing Trowa to stumble back and land on his butt. Duo blinked, and thought twice.

_Trowa **NEVER **stumbles, _he thought. _Hell._

"Who are you?" Duo snapped, aiming the head of the staff at the curled-up teen in the sand.

"This happened the last time! I switched bodies with Syaoran—now it happens **again**!" While wrapping his arms around his stomach, the pilot(?) yelled and said something about life being unfair, and how he had to go through this again, and how a guardian beast always gets the worst of everything.....

"Wait," Duo interrupted, mind finally clear and focused. "If you're Kero, then where's Trowa?"

"I'm right here," came a small, low voice from the ground.

Kero and Duo stared at the human form of Keroberos.....

.....Now inhabited by pilot 03 of the Gundam Heavyarms, Trowa Barton.

~*~*~*~

"I can't believe this," said the Deathscythe pilot, voice slightly muffed by the towel he was under. "Kero, you are far from being sensible about this, because either your acting is a little better than crap or you're just a little too mad."

"I resent that," Kero snapped, folding 'his' arms. He was leaning against the wall by the door to the hallway, head sunken slightly into his shoulders.

Trowa, who was currently perched on Duo's night table, stared at Kero. "Slouching is not good for my back," he said quietly.

"It's not YOUR back anymore," shot back the guardian beast hotly.

Despite his now different size and different form, Trowa retained his unnerving stare, however abnormal it seemed with two eyes.

Still scrubbing his wet hair with the towel, Duo managed to hide his bright grin beneath the cloth. "Well, how can I fix this? Should I just call the card and have it switch you two back?"

"It doesn't work that way, Duo."

Both Trowa and Duo stared at him. With the towel acting like a semi-hood over his face, Duo looked threatening even though he was only in a pair of black boxers and wearing what were apparently a pair of Garfield flip-flops. And Trowa looked far from the happy little teddy bear he should have been.

"Nani?"

The single word made Kero's spine shiver (or Trowa's spine, to be precise). He only wished he could sound half as ominous in his human form.

"You mean he can't get back to his body?" Duo asked calmly, taking the towel off his head.

"Iie, I did not say that.....It'll take one day, until tomorrow evening, when Change gets its powers back. Then we can switch back, but we'll.....just have to....."

Trowa GLARED. Somehow he seemed to have gotten much more temperamental in Kero's human form.

"Have to what?" Duo snapped impatiently.

"Hug!"

Now both pilots gave him constipated looks. Duo dropped the towel on the back of the chair by the desk in his room, flopping down on his bed. "Kero, what's the big deal about that? Trowa_ likes_ animals!"

Promptly the L3 pilot swiveled his head towards the American.

**Author's Note: Here I come intruding again. Since it's going to be terribly confusing, I am going to state the names of the characters as they are; just try to remember that Trowa is in Kero's body, and Kero is in Trowa's.**

"Don't _look_ at me, Tro, I'm going to bed. Kero, get out and sleep in Trowa's bed in _his_ room. Heero's going to get suspicious if you hang out in here the whole night." Duo pulled the blankets up from the foot of the bed.

"Your hair is still wet."

"Get _out_, Kero."

"You think that Heero is going to be suspicious of you having a fling with Trowa?"

"Shut up and get out, Kero."

"I'm sure it's okay, Duo, after all, Trowa is single."

Kero found himself staring into a rather menacing expression of his own face; clearly Trowa wasn't too happy about.....something.

"**GO**."

The deceptively soft tone was.....disconcerting. Kero only wished he could sound that threatening in his human form.

Duo cackled from the bed. "You heard him, K-chan, now shoo. And turn off the light."

A moment later two clicks echoed in the room. One of the closing door, and the other of the light switch. It wasn't entirely dark in the room; the moon outside cast some lighting through the window. Duo flipped onto his back and stared at the ceiling.

"Tro?"

There was no answer from the drawer in the nightstand, where Kero had stashed his bed.....which was made of silk and satin that the guardian 'resourcefully' found. Oddly enough, some of the fabric was a familiar pink color.....

"Sorry for getting you mixed up in this and all....." Duo glanced at his nightstand. "I didn't know this was going to happen." He closed his eyes, preparing to sleep, when Trowa's voice penetrated the darkness.

"You are still afraid."

The American flew up, eyes wide open. His slightly damp, unbound hair stuck to his back. "What?"

His only answer was the steady gaze of Trowa's current eyes. Even in the dim light he was ominous.

"Tro, I _know_. I don't need you to tell me." Duo fell onto his back again, staring at the ceiling. "I'm not sure if delaying it would make the situation worse or if it would help. But I'm not ready to tell them _now_. I wouldn't have told _you_ if you hadn't walked in on Kero and me."

"Are you going to avoid telling them forever?"

"You're talking too much, Trowa. Just go to sleep."

~*~*~*~

"I can't even go to sleep decently," Kero grumbled. He descended the stairs to the small living room in the temporary safehouse, turning around to head towards the kitchen near the back. "I wonder it there is anything to eat....."

"Trowa!"

_Uh oh._

Quatre Winner, the blonde. One of Duo's friends. He was sitting by the island in the kitchen, a cup of.....tea in his hands. And he was smiling.

At Trowa, or who seemed to be Pilot 03.

"What are you going to make this morning?" inquired the Arabian.

_Make???_

"Uh....."

"You know, you can make blueberry pancakes. Duo likes those. He seems to eat so much more these days....."

_Yikes! He wants me to cook??? When Meiling had learned later after the first Change episode what really happened.....She told me my culinary sucked....._ "Uh.....I need to go up and get something, uh, be right back." Flashing a reluctant smile, Kero spun on his heel and raced upstairs, feet pounding rather loudly. It seemed like a very good thing now that there were five rooms in the house.

"Duo!" Kero nearly shouted as he burst into the American pilot's room. Trowa's hair obstructed his vision and Kero glared at it, reaching up with one hand to push it up. He ended up staring at the real Trowa.

Who was standing in the open drawer of Duo's bedside table, alert and holding what seemed like too big a gun for him, aimed at the doorway.

Trowa was using both hands.....paws.

The Deathscythe pilot only rolled over in bed and groaned. One violet eye slid open.

"Whazzup, Tro?" he mumbled. _I'm not in the mood to jump out of bed even if this were an emergency....._

"Kero," the guardian snapped, glaring at Duo with both eyes.

Duo sat straight up, eyes wide open. He blinked two times, once at 'Kero', and the other time at 'Trowa'. They stared right back at him, Kero still holding his hair up. The American flopped back onto the bed, threw the covers over his head, and groaned again.

"I thought it was all a bad nightmare!" he moaned, voice muffled by the blanket.

"We don't have time for your nightmares! Quatre just asked me to cook!"

Throwing the blanket off, Duo sat up. "So?"

"I don't know how to _cook_, baka!" Flustered, Kero let his arm down, huffing slightly when the long brown bangs once again covered half his view.

Both Trowa and Duo stared at him.

It was the latter that spoke first.

"You're kidding!" Duo said loudly. Kero shut the door behind him. Trowa just continued staring.

"Just because I like good food doesn't mean I make good food!" Kero barked, sounding wholly unlike Trowa.

Duo rubbed his eyes; to see the tall pilot's _body_ ** talking** so much was.....unsettling. He sighed, and then kicked the blankets off his legs and padded to the door to go to the bathroom on the floor. He looked back over his shoulder. "Bring Trowa down with you. He should be able to instruct you on the basic breakfast. If you're really so bad you can't put salt in a pan correctly, then bring out the cereal, or make toast or something. The toaster worked fine yesterday....." He yawned, and stretched. "I have to wake up first....."

With that he darted down the hall and locked the bathroom door behind him.

"What a baka," Kero muttered, turning to the remaining occupant of the room.

Trowa sighed inwardly.

~*~*~*~

"Get out the measuring utensils," Trowa deadpanned. He knew that the guardian was going to need them more than anyone, even Duo, would.

"Where are they?"

Blinking once, the pilot pointed with one paw at the cupboards above the sink. Earlier Kero had chased Quatre out of the kitchen, closing the foggy glass door to prevent the blonde pilot from coming in.....

Unfortunately, in order to get Quatre out, Kero had promised to make pancakes.

_This is going to be a long breakfast, _Trowa thought, watching Kero pull out the measuring cup.....and knocking a glass down.

It shattered on the floor.

~*~*~*~

"My cholesterol is high; I think I'll eat cereal."

Duo was staring at the burnt pancakes on the plate in front of him. Or more like the remains of overcooked batter in front of him.

"You're fifteen," Kero grumbled under his breath. Quatre, who was sitting next to him, heard the guardian and choked on the piece of pancake he had in his mouth. Duo wasn't sure if it was from the inedible food or what Kero said.

Wufei didn't miss the odd comment either; he himself was staring at a plate of enormous, over-sized, undercooked pancakes, in which the batter oozed right off the dinnerware. It was the same thing with Heero's dish.

"Barton, are you losing your touch?"

Heero said nothing; he only exited the house through the back door.

He and Duo hadn't spoke ever since the play. Quatre noticed that they didn't stay in one room together for over ten minutes. Duo seemed considerably quieter around Heero.

_It took me a while to convince Wufei to leave his sexuality problems until after the war, _the blonde pilot thought, sighing silently. _ This one is going to take a lot more work.....And not to mention Trowa is acting funny....._

Glancing over the sulking(????) tall pilot Quatre pinked slightly. _Should I tell him....._

"I'll wash the dishes," Duo suddenly announced, startling all three that were at the table. He gave a pointed look to 'Trowa'. "Trowa is going to be nice and _help_ me wash the dishes. Right,_ Trowa_?"

".....H-Hai."

"If you want things to eat just wait till lunch." Duo picked up his plate and eyed the pancakes on it. "I've lost my appetite."

Watching the backs of the two pilots as they took the dishes into the kitchen, Quatre's eyes trailed to Wufei.

"Do you get the feeling that Duo is hiding something from us?"

The Chinese teen only snorted and stood to leave, but turned to the seated Arabian just as he was about to head up the stairs to his room again.

"Do not try to mix yourself in another person's business, Winner."

_Why.....Maybe I am being too nosy.....But I'm worried.....I feel as if something titanic is going to happen.....Is it right just to leave Duo like that until he feels like telling us what is going on?_

~*~*~*~

"You're making yourself very suspicious, Kero."

Trowa sat unblinkingly on the counter far from the sink, avoiding their messy tactics of washing dishes. Not even his tail was raised.

"I can't be silent and brooding," the real guardian muttered, settling a dish on the drying rack. Since there seemed to be a lack of a dishwasher in the beach safehouse, they were stuck doing manual work.

"Kero, that dish has soap bubbles on it." Duo sighed. "How did I get stuck doing this?....." He waved his rubber gloved hand in Kero's face. "You aren't helping, so just go and talk to Trowa. He seems to play your part better than you do."

The guardian plopped himself onto a stool, staring intently at the ceiling. "I can't wait for this day to end," he said blankly, craning his neck as far back as it could go. He glanced at the clock on the wall; it only read 10:23 back at him, the second hand ticking defiantly slower.

"Put up with it, Kero, I'm in a more precarious position than you are."

Suddenly, Trowa stood and his wings fluttered a little; he was airborne. Hovering cautiously over the counter he was over, Trowa slowly flew across the kitchen and landed on the telephone, as agile and as graceful as ever. Kero scowled.

"So, you've learned to fly. Mastering movement, however, is much harder," the guardian beast of the cards snapped. "That Syaoran idiot couldn't even fly correctly—"

He had stopped in the middle of his sentence, because now Trowa was performing twists and flips in the air. Duo, who had finished with the last dish and had pulled off the ugly rubber gloves, was applauding. Kero glared. The American only grinned cheekily at him.

"Trowa does have a bit of show off-ness in him." Duo took a look at the clock. "I'll go out and check up on my Gundam and some other stuff. _Try_ not to run into any trouble, Kero." Opening the fridge and grabbing a cold, wrapped-up sandwich, the Deathscythe pilot opened the inner door to the back and then pushed the screen door out. He unwrapped the sandwich as he ran, taking a large bite out of it.

Something had irked him since breakfast; it kept running along the edges of his mind. Knowing that it might be a card, the teenage pilot decided to check it out for himself, since Kero was in such a predicament that he couldn't afford to tag along and get Trowa's bones broken.

_Clow Cards, Sakura Cards. Some prophecy I don't know and don't understand. What am I, chop liver?_

Sighing, Duo suddenly froze. He realized which direction he was heading towards.

It was to the nearest OZ base.

_Why do the goddamn cards like hanging around bases so much??? Do they deliberately go to places where it's the most dangerous for me???_ Duo sighed, running his fingers through his bangs.

"Might as well get there fast," he muttered, reaching into his collar to pull out the chain that held the Star Key. Releasing the wand and summoning Fly, Duo hopped aboard and went full speed ahead to the next Sakura Card that awaited him.

When he did find it, it wasn't all that he expected.

~*~*~*~

Treize Khushrenada was the commander of the Organization of the Zodiac, seen usually in impeccable dress and remarkable grooming, with an air of dignity and pride that of which could rival Relena Peacecraft's.

Today, however, he was feeling a bit.....peculiar. When he eyed the large bouquet of flowers on the desk in his office that morning, he felt extraordinarily happy, though he didn't know why. Then Treize realized that beautiful flowers of every kind were scattered all around the room, petals cushioning his feet on the floor.

He was delighted.

It felt strange to be so happy.....All his soldiers were happy too, though; they were joyfully wading in flowers in the hallways. Even Une was supremely carefree and pleasant, roses decorating the buns of her brown hair. They had square-danced around his office in the base earlier; she was laughing, even though she was wearing her glasses. He had always thought that was her odder side.....

Waving a hand dismissively, Treize laughed and settled comfortably in the high-backed armchair, his customary goblet of red wine in one hand and a sweet-scented rose in the other. The young general sighed blissfully and looked out the window, watching more petals rain down onto the base.

Flowers were so pretty. If only they weren't inanimate objects, he would marry them.

His gaze traveled to the oddly dressed girl that was dancing around his office. Strange. He didn't recall her being there.....But she looked so happy too.....

~*~*~*~

"FUCK....."

His eyes were wide and he stared in stupendous amazement as petals continued to rain down on him. Suddenly Duo jerked out of his trance and shook himself, reaching up to brush off the pile of flowers that had settled on his head. Looking around, he noticed that the flowers were so high they were nearly up to his upper body. The American wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry. What kind of Sakura Card would decorate a place with flowers???

"Flower Card," the teen muttered, holding his forehead with one hand. "It has to be the Flower Card. Was Clow Reed out of his mind?"

"Yippee!"

Whirling around (or more like stumbling, since he could barely move), Duo blinked at the group of soldiers that had spotted him. They were smiling and grinning and waving and.....STRIP TEASING???

True enough, the twenty or so soldiers were dancing around in the flowers, laughing as they threw their outer garments about and did some rather.....dirty movements. Duo stared, swallowed, and proceeded to wade through to see what was going on.

"Ah, this is so refreshing....."

"Those uniforms were too stuffy.....General Treize would agree to allow us to dress in free clothing....."

"Nice ass, Green."

"I'm so happy you think so!"

"I'm so happy I can be gay!"

**Author's Note: Er.....The definition.....It doesn't matter.**

"This can't be happening....." Duo shook his head, shaking off more petals.

"It's an intruder!"

Promptly Duo was alert and on guard. All the naked OZ soldiers were staring at him. Tensing, he reached back for his gun.....

Suddenly, one of the soldiers who had pink heart boxers held in his hand threw them up in the air and shouted, "Join us!"

_Oh no....._

The fearless and intimidating God of Death turned and ran as fast as he could in the sea of flowers. The OZ soldiers were chasing him, yes, but this time it wasn't for capture.

"Come on, you can be so happy you can be gay too!!!"

Somehow Duo found himself thinking of Heero (despite his precarious situation).

_I wonder what Heero would have done....._ An image of the Japanese pilot shooting every soldier dead popped up in his head. Duo pushed it out of his thoughts. _I'm being chased by happy hooligans right now_, he reminded himself. _There's no time to think about that kind of stuff! _He had a bad feeling that if he stopped, he would be pinned under soldiers who wanted him to join them in stripping naked.

Luckily, there seemed to be a lot of open windows to the base. Duo leapt high up onto a windowsill and clambered into the nearest building, squeezing in without much difficultly. There was only one other problem: though it wasn't as deep as it was outside, the flower 'bed' was hindering his movement.

"Flower Card," Duo muttered again, his fist clenching on the pink staff tightly. "Damn."

The door to the hallway was open; no one seemed to be around. He emerged from the doorway, mashing petals under his boots with every step. Duo wondered if he was just being harsh toward the flowers; it wasn't really their fault they were in the corridor he happened to come upon.

"Pilot 02! What a pleasant surprise to see you here!"

His spine became stiff; the American became uncharacteristically inactive. The cooing voice.....it couldn't be.....

Slowly, very slowly, Duo turned to face the smiling, pink-cheeked speaker.

It was Lady Une. Lady Une with glasses and hair bound up in buns that were decorated with roses. Lavender protruded above her head; lilies and daffodils lined the top, with several sprigs of smaller flowers to finish the bouquet in her hair off.

He had always thought Une looked a little scary. Now she was downright frightening. To death.

"I'm so happy you're here! General Khushrenada would love to see you! How are the other pilots? Are they happy?"

Duo shivered; her cooing voice was nearly as annoying as Relena's grand shrieks. It was especially terrifying to hear the supreme bitch of OZ talking like.....THAT.

"Khushrenada is here?" he asked, deciding to take advantage of the situation as well as he could. In spite of the fact that he could just shoot her in the head, Duo had a Sakura Card to catch.

Une sighed dreamily and clasped her gloved hands together, looking very much like a schoolgirl as her eyes glossed over. "Yes," said Une dramatically. "He even square-danced with me! It was right in his office, with all those _beautiful_ flowers....." She pursed her lips. "Funny.....I saw this girl in a pink dress dancing all around the base.....She was positively glowing with vibrancy.....I think she went into the general's office....."

Duo shook his head and sighed. _This **has **to be a really bad nightmare_, he thought. "Where's Treize's office?"

"Ai, I don't remember.....I'm so happy, 02, would you like to join me in a romantic date tonight? I can arrange....." Une leaned in close and Duo caught a near-fatal whiff of overly engulfing lavender. He hastily pushed her away.

"I'm gay, Une, and I'm sure you wouldn't want a date with a terrorist like me," he chattered, backing away. "I'm going to look for Trieze now, so see you in a while, okay?"

Spinning on his heel, Duo sprinted down the hall faster than he had _ever _run on any missions. The American looked over his shoulder at the startled Une, who was left behind in his hurry to run away. He shivered.

"I don't want to **think** about what kind of powers Flower has," he muttered.

_If Flower is in Treize's office, I should be able to sense her magic and follow it to where it leads._ Duo closed his eyes and pictured the Star Key. When Kero practiced with him, the Star Key gave him the most focus on his powers. Hopefully all the practice paid off.

"They always said practice makes perfect."

Eyes still closed, Duo loosened his grip on the staff and relaxed, slowly walking and turning into a different corridor. He followed the thin thread of magic in his mind, releasing all the pent-up tension that had gathered last night.

After all, it wasn't every day a fellow Gundam pilot switches bodies with a semi-guardian the size of his foot.

_There!_ his brain shouted at him, and his eyes flew open just as his hand twisted the knob of the door and pushed it in, revealing the new decorations of Treize's resident office.

He mumbled, "Wu would say this is all too womanly and disgusting."

"Well, wouldn't that be typical Pilot 05," drawled a particularly calm voice.

The red-haired OZ general was standing quite tall, a rose in one of his gloved hands. The other held a glass of red wine, and Trieze held it out, offering it to Duo. Unfortunately, this only further irritated the teenager. He smiled benignly; Duo rolled his eyes.

"There's something I wanted to say to you for a long time, you damned bastard," the Deathscythe pilot half-snarled, glowering. "What are you trying to be, Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon?"

Treize remained quite unfazed. "Are you finished?" he asked serenely, looking all the more like a God with.....a rose.

All the anger and frustration built inside of him flushed to the surface. Duo could feel his face turning crimson. The war, the lives, the deaths—it was all Treize. Why did he continue to fight a war that had been fought for too long? Why did everyone have to suffer? Why was it this way? Couldn't there be a different solution? No, it had to be battles, it had to be survival, it had to be death, death, death.

So he did what he would have never thought he would do the General Treize Khushrenada of OZ.

Duo whipped the commander a good one across the face with his staff.

The Gundam pilot hit harder than he thought he did, because right away the tall general dropped unconscious on the ground.

Sucking in a long, deep breath of air, Duo blinked. He looked down at where Treize was out cold by his feet. "Shit. I did NOT just club the general of OZ with a pink staff."

_Why are you so unhappy?_

As if by magic, a whole load of flowers suddenly rained on the unfortunate Card Captor. Duo spit out a mouthful of carnations and moved wildly, attempting to remove the load of tulips and roses and other assorted bouquets off his shoulders. He eyed the woman standing on Treize's desk. She was staring curiously at him through long lashes, curly pigtails bouncing about her face.

"You must be Flower," Duo grumbled.

She nodded happily and jumped off the desk, reaching to pull the American out. Then she began to drag him into a dance.

"NO!" he said loudly, planting his heels firmly on the floor. She stopped, suddenly looking sad, her eyes watering.

Taking a deep breath, the Deathscythe pilot looked around the office. "It's time to go, Flower. I have to fix this."

_Why are you so unhappy?_

The card repeated the same question she had asked him before.

_My flowers don't make you happy. You are sad, so sad. I can feel it._

"Look, Flower, I don't really want to talk about this....." Duo trailed off, and then sighed. He raised the staff, a glowing rectangle forming above it and the symbol of the Star materializing under his feet, blowing away all the flowers. Some flew out the window; others circled above the room, spiraling around the teen.

"Flower Card, return to your card confined!"

Before the magical being dissipated into the streams flowing into the card, Duo caught a glimpse of her eyes. There was a timeless, endless look there; one that was not playful nor happy, but filled with sadness.....and pity.

The card dropped to his feet, petals floating down all around him. Silently the American crouched down and picked up the card, giving it a long look.

"There's many things a person can be unhappy about," he whispered. Tilting his head up, Duo watched the flowers billow about Treize's office, burying the general himself.

He thought of Heero.

~*~*~*~

Kero lurked around the house, having much of nothing to do. Trowa barricaded himself in Duo's night table drawer, unwilling to come out until it was time to switch back.

"I'm so bored, bored, bored, bored, BORED!"

"Trowa?"

Immediately Kero was standing straight, spine stiffer than ever. He schooled his features into a stone face as much as he could, turning to see who was talking to him. Quatre Winner. The blonde one. Easy to remember.

"Are you.....feeling all right?"

"Er....."

Quatre frowned, eyebrows furrowing together. His space heart told him that something was out of place.....Trowa was there, but at the same time, he was not. The Arabian brushed aside his muddled thoughts for the moment, suddenly blushing.

"Uh, Trowa....."

_What **else** does he have to say???_

"I.....I think I.....I think I love you, Trowa!"

Talk about shocking news.

The guardian beast of the cards froze entirely, eye(s) wide open and staring blankly above Quatre's head. Even his hair seemed to stand straight (well, stand in a way that was straight; not necessarily upward), his face a pasty, terrible white. Slight jitters ran through his body; Kero found out that his hands were shaking.

"Do.....Do you like.....like me that way too?"

Now a hot blushing crimson, Quatre paused, waiting for a reply.....if he got any at all. He wasn't sure of it, but he knew he felt the same feelings from Trowa through his space heart.....

By this point Kero had moved from ashen to ghastly. He somehow succeeded in moving into an even more pallid shade of white. As if coming to his senses, he stumbled back, struggling to regain his balance. Words tumbled out of his mouth.

"S-S-Sorry!" he squeaked. "I just remembered something.....I-I have to do, I'll see you later!"

In the next instant, he was gone.

~*~*~*~

"TROWAAAAAAA!!!"

Careening into Duo's room, Kero slammed and locked the door shut behind him, before frantically pulling the drawer of the night table open and yanking Trowa out. He began to shake the poor pilot—in his body.

"What do I do, what do I do, what do I DO???"

Poor Trowa could barely talk; the constant movement enabled him little less than chattering teeth.

Suddenly, the lock clicked open, and Kero's eye(s) swung towards the door, freezing in mid-movement.

The pilot 02 stood in the doorway, lock pick in his hand. He blinked. Then he sighed. "Why are you molesting Trowa?"

Promptly Kero dropped Trowa as if his hands had caught on fire. Darting to the door he yanked Duo in and shut the door firmly, leaning against it, seeming that the closed door was all that was between him and death.

"I'm in trouble," Kero began, calming himself down.

Duo groaned and slapped a hand over his eyes; Trowa looked indifferent. Kero shot a look at him and stated loudly, "This involves Quatre."

The Heavyarms pilot was suddenly very alert.

Several minutes later.....

"What am I supposed to do?" Kero moaned, grabbing his head in his hands. He was beginning to look different.....Trowa's hair didn't quite stand like it used to.

"Why did you run?" Trowa asked, a rather dangerous-looking gleam in his eyes.

"What **was** I supposed to do??? Say, 'oh, I love you too', and then kiss him silly, like in some idiotic soap opera? I didn't know you were gay!" Kero waved his arms around. He looked comical; considering that Trowa never gestured and never spoke so loud before. "And I couldn't go, 'oh, I hate you', he looked like he was going to run away before I did!"

"You sound like a schoolgirl," muttered the Heavyarms pilot. They both turned to a sudden muffled sound coming from the last person in the room.

Duo was curled up in a corner, face hidden from the other two occupants of the room. His shoulders began to shake; Trowa and Kero both scowled.

"Stop laughing!" Kero half-shouted.

Knocks came from the door.

Without hesitating, Kero twisted the knob and opened the poor piece of wood, which smashed into the wall. Wufei stood in the hall, onyx eyes narrowed and sword in hand.

"Barton, Yuy informed me that you have a mission." The Chinese pilot arched one fine eyebrow. "The outline has been sent to your Gundam's computer."

"Excuse us," Duo answered, and then he slammed the door in Wufei's face. Turning to face the others, he rubbed the center of his forehead. "What now?"

"A mission?" repeated the dumbfounded guardian.

"He's going to get you killed," the Deathscythe pilot stated gloomily to Trowa.

~*~*~*~

"My knees are cramped!"

"Who told you to stand back there?"

"There's no other room unless you want me to sit on your _lap_!!!"

"Quiet."

Fuming, Duo shifted his position again, his neck growing more uncomfortable by the second. His legs were squished between the back of the cockpit and the back of the pilot's seat; since the cockpit ceiling was relatively low, he tried his best to crouch down slightly, even though he was already at quite a short height. This resulted in a highly uncomfortable position, but he was sure that he didn't want to sit in 'Trowa's' lap.

The real Trowa was quite comfortably perched on a sufficient spot where he would not fall on any unusual buttons. He remained as steady as he could be throughout the bumpy and difficult ride.

Kero, guardian beast of the cards, found himself in the pilot's seat. In case anyone decided to check up on them. And he also refused to be cramped in the back like Duo.

"We have to erase the video files later," Duo grumbled, shifting again. He glanced at one of the computer screen surrounding Kero. "You're going too far left."

"Baka," Kero muttered under his breath. "What difference does it make?"

"You go 'off course'? If you want to go to Siberia, you're welcome to, but Trowa has a mission that _**I**_ am going to have to do for you. So please be mindful of the fact I want to get this over with." Duo gave the guardian a cynical grin.

Kero grumbled, "This day can't get any worse."

Trowa, on the other hand, was in the Netherlands. Quatre admitted.....that he....._liked_ him? He didn't know what to think. Of course, Trowa did harbor his own feelings for the blonde Arabian.....It was impossible. Out of the question. _Why_ would Quatre like him? He hadn't given any reason for the Sandrock pilot to do so.

"Tro?"

Watching the small form that Trowa now inhabited snap back to life, Duo settled in one place and sighed.

"Thinking about Quat?"

Quickly the Heavyarms pilot stiffened.

Trying not to press the back of his head on a wall or ceiling of some sort, Duo smiled weakly. "He doesn't lie about those kinds of things, you know. Maybe you should.....give it a chance."

"I have nothing to give," Trowa mumbled.

"Everyone has something to give," Kero snapped, annoyed. His hands (or not) gripped the controls tightly, slick with sweat. "For someone who has so much understanding of many principles of life you don't seem to understand a few things of the common sense at all."

"Relax, Kero. It's not like you've been in love before....." chided the grinning braided teenager behind him. His violet eyes flickered to the small form hunched over on his occupied spot. "Sometimes these things can make a person feel and think uncharacteristically.....Not even the most emotionless can get away from it."

The last part was muttered, but both Kero and Trowa heard it. The cockpit fell into silence, except for the humming of the thrusters.

Then the guardian beast, still sweating on the controls, broke through the stillness. "I don't get how you can swing from one mood to another so quickly."

"You get used to it," Duo replied, staring at the map. "I always had to."

Sighing, he switched gears again, returning to the smiling American he was. "So, Trowa, would you mind letting me know how big you are?"

"Big what?" questioned Kero, sweat now running in streams down his forehead. Someone was nervous.....

Duo grinned widely, glancing at the inscrutable face of Trowa's. "The size of the you-know-what in centimeters.....You know, that thing resting between your legs, also known as a phallus....."

From outside, Heavyarms jerked and plummeted before moving into a sequence of odd shaking movements.

~*~*~*~

Rashid had overheard the conversation between Master Quatre and Trowa. He had expected it.

What he hadn't expected was the Heavyarms pilot running away.

And running to Master _Duo's_ room, no less.

He watched Duo pick the lock on the door. Then Trowa pulled Duo into the room. A number of muffled and strange noises came from the room afterwards, rousing Rashid's suspicions.

After Wufei had informed Trowa of his mission, Rashid found even more peculiarity in the tall uni-banged pilot's behavior. Not to mention, of course, that Master Duo was apparently tagging along on the mission.

Watching them leave in Heavyarms, Rashid had developed a sneaking suspicion of what was going on between those two.

~*~*~*~

"You know what Kero? Trowa, turn off the goddamn video file recorder thing. I'm going to burn that disc, and in the sense of fire and not computer. Kero, land and hop out. If this thing shakes anymore, I think my bones will shake out of their joints. I'm switching you two back." Duo slammed his fists on the top of the pilot's seat as he spoke.

His legs were feeling more than cramped; in fact, pins and needles were driving him nuts, and then his feet turned to jell-O, and then his muscles pulled and after that he was back to pins and needles. Duo knew for sure that he was going to need a wheelchair if he went through that cycle again and again.

Just as Trowa pushed the button to shut off the visual, a voice came in through the audio speakers.

[_Barton._] Wufei sounded mildly irritated. [_Are you there? Why have you turned your visual off?_]

"Save power," Trowa answered sharply, alert.

Duo sucked in his breath and held it; he could almost see Wufei frown on the other end of the connection. [_Barton, what is wrong with your voice?_]

"Nothing," Kero quipped quickly. "I'm shutting off the connection and returning to the safehouse." Forcibly removing his stiff, clenched fingers from one of the controls, the guardian gestured to the real Trowa, who silently pushed the button to shut off the audio.

"Great. Just friggin' great. Seriously," Duo groaned. "What have I done in my past life to get this kind of torture....." He sagged against the back, and then just as suddenly popped up, eyes gleaming dangerously. "The two of you. Get out. Now. I'm changing you two back. And I'm riding Fly home."

"People will see you," Trowa remarked.

"I'll pull out the Create Card and make some kind of invisibility cloak. Better than being cramped here with my legs dying on me. If the Create Card can make emotions, then it can most certainly make something for comfort." Duo glared at Kero, who grinned weakly.

**Author's Note: Invisibility Cloak is property of Harry Potter, property of J.K. Rowling, etc., etc.**

"Not our fault?" Kero, slightly rattled, blinked, realizing for the first time all the beats of sweat running down his face. "How do I land?"

The American could hear Trowa sigh.

_This day can't get any worse....._

~*~*~*~

"It hasn't been one full day yet, Duo, Change isn't going to have his powers back by then." Kero shifted from one foot to another as Trowa hovered by his shoulder. While the latter retained an expressionless expression, the former was apparently producing more sweat from his glands than he did piloting the Gundam.

"Who cares? You never know until you try, and Kero, this card-capturing thing has happened only once before. You don't know if the cards have their powers back or not." Duo stared at the pink wand in his hand. "Sakura liked pink?"

Kero blinked. "Well, her cards and her staff are pink, and the color of her magical aura was pink, so I suppose it's her color."

Somehow Duo kept on envisioning a Relena with pink cards in one hand and the wand in the other. He shook his head, and pulled out the stack of cards from a hidden pocket in the leg of his pants. The brown-haired teen drew the Change card out, staring at the harmless picture on the face. He hurled it into the air above him.

"Change Card!"

For a moment, nothing happened. Then a strong gale blew in from nowhere, swirling into a whirlwind around Trowa and Kero. Green light poured out from within, blinding Duo for a second.

Then it was gone, and the American blinked several times to focus again, eyes adjusting to the sudden dimness. "Are you two," he asked hesitantly, "yourselves again?"

The tall pilot of Heavyarms appeared to be checking out his body. He said nothing, but the guardian beast was zooming around, stretching, bouncing in midair, and doing an assorted set of unusual maneuvers.

"I'm me again!" Kero exclaimed, tail whisking back and forth. He stopped abruptly, and plummeted to the ground as if he had seen a ghost.

"Glory hells," Duo muttered. "Kero, will you mind flying off for a few moments? I have to chat with Tro-chan."

Trowa gave him a one-eyed look, but the guardian just absently glided off without complaint. Duo frowned; it was abnormal behavior for the guardian beast. He'd have to ask about it later. The Deathscythe pilot turned back to Trowa and folded his arms neatly, staring straight into the one green eye that stared right back.

"Am I correct in assuming that you plan to avoid Quatre the moment we get back?"

Without batting his eye, Trowa answered, "You sound like Heero."

"Then I'm right," snapped Duo in return. "You're going to avoid him, just like.....just like I am avoiding Heero."

"You set the example," the tall pilot said quietly.

Duo rolled his eyes. "That's not the point, okay? And since when did you take examples from me anyway?" He sighed and ran his hand through his bangs, the same hand trailing down to reach for his braid and fiddle with the ends. "You can't avoid him forever, Tro. Quatre's a really nice guy, and I know you like him that way too because I've seen the way you look at him behind his back. These kinds of things can't wait. We're fighting in a war, and we have only each other to cling to, but there's always the possibility that some of us....." he swallowed, "some of us may not make it out in the end.

"So take this chance, Trowa. I've been doing some thinking.....Evading Heero is just too hard, even if he's trying to do that same thing. With all the missions we're together in there's no chance of not seeing the guy for the rest of my life. I'm going to talk to him, and see how this turns out." Unconsciously, the American blew upward at his bangs. "Sometimes there are no second chances."

For a moment, the taller of the two didn't speak. His mind absorbed Duo's words; would Quatre accept him if he knew about the secrets he kept?

"I'll.....talk with him," Trowa said softly. He remained impassive.

Hollowly Duo stated, "I sound old."

Trowa eyed him, assessing the American as if it were for the first time. Then, he finally spoke. "You'll have to tell Heero sometime."

"I wish you would stop changing the subject," complained the American. "I know I have to tell Heero about the cards. Just not now."

"Aren't you a hypocrite."

"Yes, I'm a hypocrite. But I'm not a liar." Duo's brows furrowed together. "Wait a minute....."

~*~*~*~

**Kero**

_This wasn't supposed to happen. It **couldn't** happen. It wasn't possible. I knew Duo was strong in the area of magic, but I never thought he would be this strong. To give power to a card to perform its job even before it fully regained its own power.....In all the laws that Clow Reed had set for the cards, it is completely wrong. Unless there was something Clow was keeping from us.....He always kept things from Yue and I._

_And the cards are gaining emotions. Emotions not influenced by their own original power, but by their connection to the Card Captor. They're becoming.....human._

~*~*~*~

When Trowa had landed his Gundam (not without letting Duo squish in again so not to appear suspicious), there was an unexpected welcoming parade.

If you call the somewhat threatening army of forty large, well-built men who called themselves the Maguanacs a welcoming parade.

_They do look kinda serious_, Duo mused, keeping his distance safely behind Trowa. Then it clicked. _Shoot. **Quatre**. That's why they're here....._

The leader of the group raised his right hand. Slightly.

"Hi, Rashid!" piped the American loudly, leaping ahead of the tall Heavyarms pilot to grab the hand and pump it. "I didn't know you guys were all here.....I thought that only you were visiting." Glancing around, Duo's smile froze. "This house isn't gonna be enough." _Geez, they don't look too friendly as of now....._

"Master Duo," Rashid acknowledged briefly, though both of his eyes were set on the other teen. "Master Trowa—"

Kero, in the meantime, made note in his head to ask Duo who these people were. They looked like they could outdo Yue anytime.....

Interrupting, Duo grabbed Trowa's arm and began to steer him towards the direction of the beach house. "He can talk to you later, Rashid, he needs to talk to Quatre first," the braided teen declared loudly, Kero suddenly shoved into the back of Trowa's shirt. Duo muttered under his breath, so that only Trowa and Kero could hear him, "I'll handle them.....You better be glad, Kero, you got us in this mess."

Against his skin Trowa could feel the guardian beast making a face. Apparently Kero had a lot of.....teeth.

Duo turned back to Rashid, smiling brightly. All the Maguanacs made as if to go after Trowa, but Duo blew a whistle to get their attention.

"Hey, they don't need forty people to look after them." Yawning, he stretched and laughed. "Quat's not going to be in danger. I doubt he'd be anything but unhappy tonight. Trowa isn't going to _rape_ him."

Suddenly all forty of them were very alert.

"Oops, I said the wrong thing again, didn't I....."

Another Maguanac that Duo recognized stepped forward. "Master Duo, we would like to know if there is some secret between you and Master Trowa that will cause any sort of damage to Master Winner, physical or emotional....."

The teen pilot drew in a sharp breath—and began to laugh hysterically. Cackle, even. He doubled over around his stomach, eyes squeezed tightly shut, his gleeful voice choked with mirth.

"You," he gasped, jabbing one finger in their general direction, "think.....I'm...._involved_.....with TROWA???" Unable to resist, he hooted even louder, making the Maguanacs even more confused.

"But you and Master Trowa—"

"He needed some advice," Duo clarified, still grinning wildly. "I mean, come on, you wouldn't ask Heero or Wufei about love problems, would you?"

~*~*~*~

"Quatre?"

The blonde was leaning against the wooden railing of the porch facing the ocean, not answering him. Trowa walked up to Quatre and stood silently, not knowing what to say. For a moment they just stared at the sun hovering above the water, nearing sunset.

"You weren't yourself today, were you?"

Trowa didn't answer. He could feel Kero crawling out of the neck of his shirt, about to launch into the air, but the Arabian spun around then, blue eyes searching Trowa's. So Kero was left no choice but to cling to the back of the Heavyarms pilot's neck.

"It has something to do with Duo again, doesn't it?"

"......Hai."

Silent, Quatre continued to watch the waves crash onto the shore. The tide was coming in, the particles of sand constantly shifting with the water that carried them. Neither of them spoke.

"Why don't you just go, 'I love you'???" Kero hissed. "Isn't that how all the bad soap operas go anyway?"

_This **isn't** a bad soap opera_, Trowa thought. _What **am** I supposed to do?_

"Are you two.....together? In a relationship?"

The tall teen started. "No," answered he quickly. Kero now floated behind Trowa's head, tail swishing about and brushing the pilot's neck.

_There is definitely something wrong with all the Gundam pilots_, Kero mused to himself. _We have two couples with odd little problems and one who's pining over his undefined sexuality. Both the couples seem to be unable to admit to each other what their feelings are; this is far more complicated than back when the only problem was Syaoran and Sakura....._

"Let's just forget about all of this, okay? Forget everything that I said today. It.....It-it doesn't really matter."

Impassive, Trowa opened his mouth, and then closed it, and opened it again when he found his voice.

"If you want to."

"WHAT in the world are you doing???" Kero hissed in Trowa's ear—rather loudly. "You have a chance—"

A new voice interrupted. "Barton!"

The guardian beast leapt right back into Trowa's shirt, and his squirming surprised the Heavyarms pilot, who moved instinctively. He stumbled forward and regained his balance by grabbing onto the railing of the porch. Quatre had turned around when the voice (sounding like Wufei) had called out. He, too, moved automatically to catch Trowa, but ended up with wood digging into his back when Trowa grabbed the railing on both sides of him. The two of them ended up so close that Trowa's bangs were pushed up on top of Quatre's head and the blonde could see both green eyes quite clearly.

Of course, to make the timing absolutely perfect, one Chang Wufei came around the side of the house.

"Barton, I want to borrow a book—"

And he stopped short, blinking uncharacteristically owlishly at what appeared to be two Gundam pilots in close proximity of each other. (Translation: Make-out session.)

"I'll just borrow the book," said Wufei abruptly, spinning on his heel. One finger reached up.....to squeeze a bleeding nostril shut.

Hastily Trowa stood up straight and backed away; while Quatre was still distracted (he was turning an odd crimson) he reached into his shirt and dragged Kero off his back by the tail, and then hurled the guardian over the porch rail and into the sand. He landed nicely, burying his bulbous head into the sand.

"Sorry," the taller teen muttered. He had a sudden urge to yank his hair. Turning, Trowa was about to enter the house when he stopped.

[_Sometimes there are no second chances._]

Duo's words echoed in his head. Maybe.....there wasn't going to be a chance after this. Maybe one of them was going to die on the next mission. Maybe.....maybe Quatre wasn't going to give him a second chance.

He had the time now.

"Did you.....mean what you said this afternoon?"

Having been fanning himself, Quatre (it was somewhat _hot_ all of the sudden) blinked. "Huh?" However, like the Winner he was, the Arabian quickly recovered.

"Trowa, forget that. Forget everything I said." Quatre coughed and tried to sidestep the taller of the two, but Trowa stopped him with a barring arm.

"Did you mean what you said?"

Unable to speak, the blonde stared at Trowa. He wasn't quite able to bring himself to say no. He gaped soundlessly for a few seconds. Blinking several times, Quatre glanced away and then brought his gaze back to the other pilot.

"Do you _want_ me to tell the **_truth_**?"

It came out sounding odd, but he brushed that thought aside and stared at Trowa right in the eye (heh).

"Fine! I meant everything I said. It doesn't matter now, does it? I—"

Trowa interrupted him. Without thinking, he leaned down and captured Quatre's mouth in his own.

On the roof, a notorious braided pilot lay down on his stomach, watching avidly. In his right hand he held a well-known device, index finger poised on the button on top. He grinned and pushed the button.

Click.

"Ah, the wonders of a camera!"

~*~*~*~

A few moments later, Duo found himself outside the door to Heero's room, hand raised to knock. His knuckles never touched the wood, because at the second he finally decided to knock the door opened of its own accord and his fingers hit Heero's shoulder instead.

"Uh....."

"....."

"Hi.....?"

Heero gave him a LOOK.

Finally Duo sighed. "We need to talk."

"I have to prepare for a mission." Heero remained inscrutable. "This will have to wait."

"NO, it CANNOT wait!" snapped the other teenager, firmly digging in his heels to block Heero's way out. "We've been running around each other for too long!"

Now the Perfect Soldier glared. "I have no need to talk to you."

"We can't do this forever, Heero. I won't take much more than a few minutes of your _precious_ time."

Scowling, Heero debated whether or not to remove Duo forcibly. Of course, there would be somewhat of a commotion, but he did not want to talk. He didn't want to think about something he had been thinking about for days.

"Move."

Duo stared at him. Heero expected a lash back, but the American remained silent. They both stood on opposite sides of the doorway, not speaking.

Then Duo turned to the side to let him through. Motionless for a moment, Heero brushed past Duo quickly, proceeding on his way. Just as he was about to go down the stairs, however, Duo spoke up, loud enough for him to hear.

"Running is usually what I do."

_Then continue running_, the Wing pilot thought. And he was still thinking of what Duo said as he exited the safehouse.

~*~*~*~

"I can't he threw me into the sand!"

He stared at the ceiling as Kero continued to zoom around, babbling angrily. Duo silently lay in his bed, hands tucked behind his head. He rolled over onto his side, away from Kero.

"I hate being a hypocrite," he whispered.

~*~*~*~

Number of cards left to be captured - 6  
Card captured in this chapter - Change, Flower

Here, I am wondering why I didn't have Duo shoot Treize and get OZ done over with. There are gaping hopes in this story, I swear.....So just please ignore the flaws. I think it's a bit tedious to explain everything.


	12. Losing Time

Now, what good excuse can I come up with? It's been over half a year, and even this long chapter can't make up for all that time. For those who were afraid that this fic was dead, rest assured, it's not. I'm trying my best to actually get near the end, but problems have come up at home, and my interest has died down somewhat over the two years, leaving me with a bit of an empty brain. Originally this fic was meant to span past the Final Judgment (heh, everyone's waiting for that part, huh?), but now I can barely even reach there. So it _might_ end at the Final Judgment, or it might not. For now, Gundam Wing does not belong to me, just go ahead and read the story. People have also been telling me my email won't work.....I'll look into it.

Chapter XII - _Losing Time_

What is the best part of a beach? The sun? The water? The relaxation?

No.....it's the _sand_.

"I'm beginning to think that Clow Reed was demented!" Duo shouted. Rolling to the side in midair on his flying staff, the Deathscythe pilot dove downward, avoiding what was apparently a tentacle of sand.

"I don't think you should talk!" Kero shouted back, sarcasm lacing his voice.

The beach on which the safehouse was located churned, swirling angrily. More of the sand tentacles shot up, trying to dislodge the Card Captor from his staff and into the ground where he could be trapped.

"Now give me a clue, Kero! How do I beat the Sand card?"

Agilely avoiding the danger around Duo, the guardian beast strove to a higher altitude. "Sakura used the Watery, so that Syaoran could summon Freeze and keep Sand in a solid lump long enough for Sakura to seal it."

"Oh, like I have the leisure time to do so without getting sucked up in the goddamn quicksand?!"

"You're the Gundam pilot!"

"_You're_ the guardian beast!" Duo snapped back.

"Oh, and I forgot to add 'Card Captor'?" Kero's voice was dripping sarcasm. "JUST FIND SOME WAY TO BEAT THE THING!!!"

"Why do I keep you around?" muttered the braided teenager.

Suddenly, he turned over in midair and plunged head-down towards the sand. Kero yelled, diving to help the Card Captor, who he thought had fell off.

This Duo **had** done, but not unintentionally. Two cards were gripped tightly in his hand; one he now flung into the air.

"Float Card!"

"FLOAT???!!!" Kero half-shrieked. He came to a screeching halt in his flight. _I should have known! I'm getting old and senile....._

The Sand, seeing an opening to attack, called up a wave of sand to pound the Deathscythe pilot off his winged balloon.

"I don't surf on sand, and definitely not on balloons," mumbled Duo. He sighed and used his trump card.

"Shield!"

"Why didn't you use that earlier???" Kero shouted, gliding quickly into the bubble of safety. "It would have saved us both a lot of trouble!!!"

Duo grinned. "Haven't you noticed how fat you were getting? Encouraging you to exercise doesn't help, so....."

"You make such outrageous excuses," grumbled the guardian beast.

"It's not the first day you've known me, Kero." Duo gave him a lopsided smile and raised his staff again. " Watery!"

The card shimmered once, and a roaring jet of blue liquid burst from it, flying above the protective globe and splintering into a gigantic spray. Streams of water arced down around them, plunging into the sand. The dry grains soaked it up, color growing darker as it became saturated. Watery practically rained on Sand, filling the entire beach with all she could. Duo glanced at the rising tide, and realized that Watery was seeping out into the real water beyond the beach.

"Watery! Return to your card confined!" Watery's card dropped into his waiting hand; Duo's eyes flicked down to the roiling, muddied sand. "I hope the house isn't sinking....."

"Stop worrying about the house, and worry about Sand! I think it's trying to escape into the underwater sand!" exclaimed Kero alarmingly.

"All right, all right!" Duo shot the guardian a scathing look and drew the Freeze Card from the pouch he carried around for the card. He looked at the crystal-like fish in the picture, remembering his encounter with the card. It wasn't particularly friendly, just like Sand. In fact, both of the cards liked shooting and attacking with giant obstacles of their unique power.

"Freeze Card!"

A chilly wave washed over his skin. Duo unconsciously shivered, eyes following the Freeze as it dived into the watery mess of sand. "It'll come in handy on hot summer days."

An uneven surface of ice spread across the sand, the sound of forming ice cracking in the air. Kero and Duo hovered uncertainly as the beach became solid ice, white wisps floating around the bottom of Float's balloon. When Freeze was finished, one last blast of icy wind swept the area.

"Isn't it being a little too dramatic?" Duo sighed and lifted the staff above his head, stretching his right arm high. "Sand Card, return to your card confined!"

The spirit of sand was drawn out of the icy beach, which changed back in a bright flash. Float and Shield returned to their cards forms as well, and four pink Sakura Cards dropped into Duo's palm. He eyed the card on top warily. "Why is there a Sand Card anyway?"

"Clow Reed didn't just create the spirits in the cards. He made the cards, and then trapped the powerful elemental spirits within them. Eventually they became close to him." Kero stopped talking, thoughts turning to the odd behavior of the cards.

_That little guy really has no idea how obvious he is_, Duo thought, smirking. _I'll have to chat with him later._ "Come on, Kero. I have to get back before the other guys wake up. I left them zonked out by Sleep, and if OZ suddenly comes along Heero won't be able to wake up at the sound of wrong footsteps on the porch. C'mon!"

Picking himself up from the sand, Duo brush the grains off. He glanced around, eyes skittering about their surroundings. The air was still thrumming with magic; he could feel it. "Kero?"

"What?"

"Does Sand leave an aftershock of magic floating in the air when it is captured?"

"No....."

Duo sighed. "So that means there's another card floating around nearby, huh? Damn, when they pop up they have to pop up all around the same time. Can't they come one at a time?"

"Sakura caught them one at a time, and it took her nearly a year, I think," Kero stated lazily. "You're always complaining about how they boggle up your time. You should be _happy_ they're appearing fast." _More like appearing too fast._

"Never mind that," Duo snapped, shoving three of the four cards in his hand into his pocket. "Shield Card!"

A colored bubble enveloped the beach house, guarding the occupants inside. Duo smiled, satisfied that the other pilots would be safe, and turned towards the direction of the waves of magic.

"There's nothing in sight," Duo muttered. "There's not that many cards left, are there? Earthy, Windy, Illusion.....I can't believe I remember this stuff.....Return and Illusion....."

"Duo....."

"What?"

"I think you've trapped the cards _inside_ Shield."

"**WHAT???**"

Right enough, there was an odd glowing aura around the house, and it was inside Shield. Duo gaped for a moment, and then slapped his forehead. "The cards really do pick on me!" he half grumbled as he ran towards the safehouse.

"I think that's the point?" Kero shook his head. "And you're beginning to sound like a whining sixteen year-old."

"Say that again and I can guarantee you a good twenty-four hours in the new Relena Box."

"No, **thank** you!"

"Why do we always bicker like this—"

The two would have perhaps continued their little argument like a good husband and wife had it not been for the interference of a certain card.....

Duo blinked slowly. Kero's face was fading, and his vision was becoming too dark. He tried to raise a hand and wave it in front of his face, but his limbs felt heavy. "Kero?" Duo felt himself falling even as he spoke, pulled into the ground by invisible threads.

"It's....."

~*~*~*~

When Kero realized that he was surrounded and enveloped by water, he also realized that something had gone seriously wrong. And that was _before_ he heard Duo gurgling (curses, most likely) near him. He took one gulp of water, and then flailed around in a panic.

Duo, meanwhile, had kicked up to the surface of water, and heard the guardian beast underwater (despite the fact that Kero was very small, he still managed to make a ruckus). _Can't the guy swim?_ thought the pilot crossly. Then he remembered that Kero was the guardian beast of the sun, and fire was Kero's thing. Water.....was definitely not.

Sighing, Duo ducked his dripping head into the water and searched for the small yellow blob that he knew would be there. When he did, his fingers reached and grasped something that felt like a funny string. Frowning as bubbles escaped his mouth, Duo resurfaced and yanked the string with him.

It was Kero's tail.

"Whoops," muttered the long-haired pilot, legs treading water. His other hand was gripping the staff, so Duo had no choice but to drop Kero into the water to scoop him up again. "Sorry about the tail."

"WOULD YOU LIKE THAT IF I DID IT TO YOUR BRAID???"

"Hey, I said I was sorry, and if you continue complaining I'll drop you in the water and let you drown." Duo received a huff as an answer; Kero shook himself, flinging droplets everywhere. The guardian leapt into the air.

Glancing around at his surroundings, Duo blinked blankly. "We're in a _pool_?" The American swam to the ladder on the side of the pool and climbed out, scowling as his braid dripped on the gray tiles. "I'm drenched too."

_It was the Return Card,_ Kero thought, hovering over the safety of land. _But it couldn't have sent us **both** back in time.....Unless it was sapping up the excess magic Duo was using.....He must be more powerful than I thought. Is that a good or bad thing? Maybe after the Final Judgment....._

"Who the heck are you?"

The two of them turned to their new visitor. Kero's jaw promptly smacked the ground, and he simply gawked at what appeared to be a young man with a glowing sword. Duo studied, judging him to be around the age of eighteen or so, and he definitely emanated an aura of magic. The Deathscythe pilot also took note of Kero's disbelieving face.

"Yo, Kero, you know this guy?"

The man with the sword swiveled his head to the small floating figure next to the soaking teenager in black. It was his turn to stare.

All the staring was making Duo feel uncomfortable. He shifted from one foot to the other, and, deciding that the man wasn't dangerous, finally snapped the silence. "Can someone stop looking stupid and tell me what's going on? Kero, I do need to know what kind of card that was, you know....." The teen looked at the sky and frowned. "There's also something wrong with the sky.....What happened to the colonies' artificial lights? They're usually bright enough and close enough to be visible from down here....."

Kero was looking a rather pale yellow at the moment. "Duo?" he asked in a deathly whisper. He didn't take his eyes off the man with the sword. "That was the Return Card."

The American blinked. "The Return—oh. Oh......OH.....Crap." He paused. Taking another look at the sword-wielding man, he recalled a familiar description about a brat who had brown hair, glaring eyes, and a sword.....

"You wouldn't happen to be _Syaoran_, would you?"

~*~*~*~

"So how are we supposed to get back?"

Duo glared at the half-asleep guardian of the cards on the coffee table in front of him. Syaoran was sitting stiffly on the armchair next to the sofa where the teenage pilot sat himself. Kero, on the other hand, was drooling on the coffee tabletop. Duo had peeled off his wet clothes, and Syaoran lent him an oversized green t-shirt and shorts. His braid took a while of combing and high-powered blow-drying to return to its normal state.

"Kero!"

"Hungry.....Hungry....."

"We know," Duo and Syaoran droned in unison. The two glanced at each other, and then sighed and rolled their eyes in understanding.

"You've said that over fifty times in the last ten minutes," said Syaoran sourly. "I don't have any sweets in the house, and the refrigerator is pretty much empty. I was going to get the groceries when you two popped up.....in my pool."

The eyes of Kero shot open and he sat up quickly. "Pretty much empty? That means you still have something in there, right?"

While Syaoran was talking, Duo had gotten up and walked over the kitchen, which was also apparently a semi-bar for the living room. He opened the refrigerator when Kero asked, and pulled out a jug with a smirk. "Ice water, anyone? There's ice cubes in here too, and ice packs. No ice cream, and not even a raisin." Sending Syaoran a significant look, the Deathscythe pilot cocked his head to one side. "Why don't you have any groceries, anyway?"

Coughing, Syaoran eyed the teenager in his small kitchen. "_You're_ supposed to be the future Card Captor?"

"Yup. Don't try to change the subject." Duo closed the door on the fridge. "I'd be more worried about going back if I weren't—"

His stomach made a LOUD grumble.

Sheepishly Duo shrugged. "Heh heh. It's about lunchtime in my time, and I was so busy capturing cards this morning I actually forgot breakfast."

The bell rang.

"I'll get it," Duo sing-songed instinctively, needing to know who was there.

"NO!" Syaoran performed an amazing leap from the armchair, but he wasn't quite a match for Duo's speed.

The door swung wide open and Duo looked up and down at the person in the doorway. Female, about his height, and athletic. Green eyes and shoulder length brown hair. Danger alert: no. But she did have a rather angry look on her face....

"SYAORAN, YOU HAVE A GIRL IN YOUR HOUSE, WEARING YOUR SHIRT AND SHORTS???"

Immediately the said person popped up from the floor and managed a murderous glare at Duo before he dashed out after the girl, who was already halfway out on the wooden walkway leading to the door. Apparently the house was built on a riverbank.

"Ah, so I'm a girl again," said Duo tonelessly. Kero now soared to the door, and looked out into the distance at the awkward couple. Staring, Kero pointed to the green-eyed girl.

"What's Sakura doing here?"

Violet eyes flicked to the guardian beast. "_She's_ my predecessor? She mistook me for a girl!"

"Well, it's kind of hard not to."

"What did you say?" demanded Duo in a threatening tone. The guardian beast clamped his lips together and smiled innocently. Making an irritated sound, the braided pilot ran out onto the walkway and skidded around the corner, catching sight of Sakura and Syaoran currently engaged in a heated conversation.

"Sakura, it's not what it's seems—"

"Then what _is_ it supposed to be?"

Duo butt in. "Hey, hey, hey, I'm not an IT, I'm a guy, okay?"

Both young adults stared at him. Sakura opened her mouth first.

"A guy?" She pointed a finger at him, and turned to Syaoran. "You're sleeping with a GUY???"

"No, Sakura, you've got it all—"

The long-haired teenager suddenly yawned and sighed. "This would be a lot more comical if I had a full-stomach, Kinomoto-san, but I'm kind of hungry and so is the idiot in the house. And, since there's another slight problem going on, we don't need any extra things muddling our minds. So let me clear this up for you: I'm the future Card Captor, I encountered the Return Card, and I ended up in his pool. Since my clothes are currently drying on the line in the yard, Syaoran lent me his clothes so I don't walk around buck naked."

Sakura simply gaped.

Syaoran had his head in his hands.

"DUO! THERE'S VANILLA PUDDING!!! BWHAHAHAHA!!! I WILL NOT DIE OF HUNGER!!!"

The American slapped his forehead.

~*~*~*~

"Slow down, Kero, you're eating too fast." Sakura smiled and glanced at Syaoran. "You're lucky I brought along some homemade desserts. You know how Kero gets when he's hungry."

"He'd eat the ice cubes," commented Duo.

Of the other three occupants in the room, two stifled their amusement while one glared indignantly around a mouthful of pudding. Kero swallowed and scowled darkly.

"Why don't you use your brain and find out how to get back to your time?"

For a moment, Sakura looked thoughtful. "The last time we captured the Return Syaoran brought me back to the future by using the Time Card. Kero, will the Time work if someone tried to use it to go to the future?"

The small guardian paused, furrowing his eyebrows together. "I'm not sure, actually. Clow Reed never used the Time Card that much, and you both only used Time to halt briefly the passage of time itself. The Return and the Time are tricky cards, next to the Libra."

"I'll call and ask Mother," Syaoran said quickly, standing. Sakura's expression turned somewhat dark, and wisely Duo scooped up Kero and his pudding, and headed out the back door to the pool.

"Why are you leaving?" questioned Kero.

Looking back before closing the screen door, Duo walked around the pool to the other side, staring at the blue sky above him. It was a little past noon, and the sun beamed down on them from high. Kero floated out of his hand and settled himself on the sun table near the swimming pool; Duo himself plopped into a convenient chair.

"They need some privacy over certain issues dealing with a relationship, Kero." Duo sighed, clasping his hands together behind his head.

"I've wondered for a long time how world peace feels..... There's still some bad things happening around the world, but there's no gigantic organization trying to take over the world, and no fear of being captured, no need.....to pilot Deathscythe." He smiled in a dreamy sort of way, eyes focused on the birds calling overhead. "I'm tired, you know? Really tired.....I just need a bit of a rest from being.....me."

Kero lay back on the table, basking in warm sunlight. He was silent, listening to Duo speak. The guardian understood these moments.

"You got sealed back into the book when Sakura was fifteen, right?"

"Hai. She said she needed to focus on the future."

"Syaoran, she meant?"

"....."

"I wish I had a future to focus on."

"You do."

The pilot laughed. "It's only predictable for another hour or so."

"What about the future after the war? And about the Heero thing?"

"I'm not even sure if _I'm_ going to survive the war, much less say Heero. We're most likely not going to have the chances that Sakura and Syaoran have. I'm not like them. I'm a teenage terrorist that has a lot to answer for. In the future, if the war ever ends, I'm not going to be able to live a normal life. Life just doesn't work that way."

"How do you know?"

Duo stood up and pulled the Star Key from the chain around his neck. "Life's given me too little hope and too much disappointment, I guess." With a quick flick of his wrist, the key changed into the staff.

Startled, Kero stood up. "You're not just going to use Time without knowing the consequences, are you?"

"Well, if you're so paranoid, I'll ask Create to cook up a working time machine to send us back or forward, whatever." He could hear a commotion from the house. "They don't sound too good in there....." Duo strode around the pool and entered the house again, leaving Kero outside.

_Maybe I don't quite understand him at all. Just like him to have a personality that matches his magic; as complicated and as unpredictable. His power is great by itself, without even the need of the cards. Still.....Return couldn't have gotten so much power from the excess that Duo used. Unless it was drawing magic from another source..... _A dark thought entered Kero's head. _Could it be....._

_Yue?_

~*~*~*~

"Can you two just stop it?"

Patience worn somewhat thin by dealing with the two supposed adults, Duo finally gave in to his dark side. He yelled at both of them.

Sakura, the first of the two to realize how foolish they were acting, sighed and held her forehead up with one hand. "There's been some pressure.....on both sides. We can't always be together, and this is the first summer we're spending together alone. And there's been all sorts of things coming in, from congratulations—" the eighteen year-old rolled her eyes, thinking about her best friend back in Japan, "—to refusal from overprotective brothers. It's gotten quite out of hand, and we've discussed this too." She stared at the ground and sighed again. "Syaoran, maybe we should go our separate ways."

From what he observed of the disbelieving expression on Syaoran's face, Duo deduced that the Chinese man wasn't quite ready to let go.

"Sakura—"

She held up a hand to stop him. "I know. But after all these years, it's been hard to work out everything. We are rarely able to see each other because you're in Hong Kong and I'm in Japan, and my long-distance phone calls cost a good deal. And.....I know, and so do you, that your duty comes to family first, and there's really no way you can manage this relationship."

The room was silent for a few seconds. Duo, long since excluded from the conversation, decided to sit this one out.

Syaoran spoke. "You can't be serious. After all we've went through—doesn't any of that mean anything to you? I've defied my mother so many times on your case I think I'd be cursed by my ancestors for existing!"

"Excuse me," interrupted the Gundam pilot (who had thrown all caution of 'keeping his mouth shut' to the wind), "but I've got something to say."

His predecessors stared at him. Syaoran's left eyebrow was twitching.

"I've heard the epic—" here Duo paused to snort, "—tale of the Void card from Kero well enough. Despite his frequent protestations, I'm well aware that he was sure you two would live in happily ever after, which, of course, doesn't happen.

"But just because you have odd family members and a few setbacks in your long-distance relationship doesn't mean that you two can't give yourselves another chance. You two have second chances, you know. Better take advantage of them before they disappear. Better than having nothing at all, ne?"

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked, puzzled.

The American sighed. "The time in the future where I come from, man is already living in space, in colonies that orbit the planet. A war with piloted machines is the current news, and has been for many years. I'm.....a pilot in the war too. In my case, I'm not allowed to have a decent relationship with anyone." _Including Heero, a fellow pilot of mine who I've been schoolgirl crushing on.....ahem_. "So I think that you two should be enjoying your time together away from your families, instead of bickering.....but you'll do that a lot when you get married. I only **wish** I have a life like yours, where I don't have to worry about dying or killing everyday."

When Duo finished speaking, the two young adults looked at each other. Both seemed to be reading each other's eyes, and it was through that unique communication that they came to a conclusion.

"You know, I'd never thought that a future Card Captor would be teaching me about the philosophies of life, but Duo," Sakura smiled, "thanks. You're right, I was just letting everything get to me. I'm worried about college and I really shouldn't have acted the way I did."

"Relax, Kinomoto, I know more about jealous girls than you think." _From good ol' Relena-sama, of course_.

Syaoran said rather sullenly, "I can't believe you thought I was sleeping with another guy."

"Excuse me, dude, but she thought I was a girl first before she jumped to the conclusion you were gay." Duo grinned goofily. "Did that assuage your pride?"

The young man **glared** at him.

"We really have to find a way to send you home."

Duo shrugged. "No need. I'm going to use the Time Card." He waved the staff he had in his hand for the first time since he was in the house. "That was what I was going to tell you when I popped up during your argument. "

"Are you sure?" questioned Sakura. "Magic isn't something you mess around with, Duo."

The Deathscythe pilot pointed to himself. "Do I look like I have a choice? I have to get back to where I came from." _There's a war to fight.....and some unfinished business. I guess they—I—was right. I really should tell him. There's not too many chances in the world.....I should value mine while I have the chance. It looks like I learned something from Sakura after all._

~*~*~*~

"Ready?"

Kero wrapped himself as tightly as he could around Duo's braid. The pilot winced.

"Not _too_ tight, Kero, or you'll start pulling out hairs."

Suddenly, Syaoran smiled. Mischievously. "Well, it's not bad to know that the future Card Captor is so—"

An elbow belonging to his girlfriend was unexpectedly found in his ribs. It took all of his training to keep his mouth shut.

The former Card Captor handed him a large zipped up CD case holder. "That is the DVD collection of most of my card captures, courtesy of my slightly obsessed friend, Tomoyo Daidouji. She moved the captures from her camcorder videos to discs, I hope you won't make the silly mistakes I made, and please, ignore the outrageous costumes."

"Oh, Kero's told me about her. He said she was nice....."

Kero earned a rather piercing glare from Sakura.

"I wish you well, Duo." Sakura knew Kero hadn't told him about the Final Judgment yet. She hoped he would pass Yue's trial.....

"Good luck at your wedding too!" Duo's face burst into a silly grin as the couple both became somewhat red.

Back into his clothes, Duo checked his braid and Kero who seemed to be doing his best to strangle himself with it. Waving back at the two, the American tightened his hold on the wand and pulled the Time Card out of his pouch, hooking the case on his arm.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered under his breath.

"Time Card!"

~*~*~*~

He groaned and rolled over onto his back, opening his eyes. Duo turned his head to the side, eyeing the Time Card which was now embedded in the sand like a gravestone. That card pulled more air out of him than Heero's punches. Moaning, he closed his eyes and opened them again.

A second card had landed beside Time, sparkles following it and sinking into the sand. Duo frowned, and then his eyes shot wide open.

It was the Return Card.

_Thank you, Card Captor._

It all clicked in his head. Duo groaned, one arm flopping up to cover his eyes. Return had sent them back in time so that they could help Sakura!

"Duo? You awake?"

Hovering over the head of the American, Kero poked Duo with his tail. The Card Captor in return rolled over onto his stomach and pushed himself up by his hands. Kero wisely picked up the Star Key and the two cards for him, as the Gundam pilot even had trouble standing. Duo wobbled his way into the safe house, glad he ended up inside Shield's protective bubble. The case on his arm was dropped behind a convenient plant on the front porch.

"The return back and the moving of location must have drained a lot of your energy," the guardian told him. He winced when Duo tripped and slammed into the door. "You better get some sleep."

Too weary to even talk to Kero, Duo only nodded and dug for his keys. He suddenly froze.

"The keys dropped into Syaoran's pool," he moaned.

"You have to be kidding me," Kero muttered. "And I don't get how you could remember to lock the door when a card is attacking."

"Habit.....Will you be able to pick the lock?" Duo gestured weakly at his braid. "I've got my lockpicks....."

"Nah, there's a better way." Kero waved one paw dismissively and focused his eyes on the doorknob. Narrowing his gaze, the guardian felt the surge of magic inside him.

The knob _melted_.

"KERO! Now we're going to have to replace it!"

"For someone who is supposedly extremely tired," Kero remarked, "you sure do have a lot of leftover energy to yell at others."

"Heero's going to kill me," muttered as he pushed open the door and wobbled inside, letting Kero settle into his hand as a doll first, in case the other pilots had woke up.

What happened inside was completely unexpected.

Duo felt something slam into him before he got three steps into the door. He "oofed" and smashed into the ground, air knocked out of him (again). Kero skittered on the floor and sat up quickly, dropping all pretense of his disguise.

It took one second before the braided pilot on the ground realized that there was also a pair of hands around his neck. Choking and clawing at the hands squeezing his throat, he gasped for air as he stared at the murderous face above him.

It was Heero.

Having floated up to get a clear view over the sofa, Kero's eyes bulged. He quickly gathered his magic and let out a roaring flamethrower out at Heero.

Only due to the highly trained reflexes of the Perfect Soldier did the flamethrower miss; but it did singe the messy hair, and when Heero rolled to his feet, the top of his head was smoking. The knob-less door, however, did not survive impact. In fact, it now had a new decoration: a soot-edged hole.

Suddenly rejuvenated, Duo staggered to his feet, and stared at Heero in incredulity. "Heero?" he asked quietly, voice shaking slightly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The answer he received was the odd end of a gun.....pointed at his head.

Wincing, the American took an involuntary step forward, only to find the gun pushed even closer. _Did he find out? He doesn't have to kill me, does he? He can't live with a freak, find, I could.....go away. But this isn't quite what even **I** expected....._

"GET," snarled Heero, "AWAY from me." 

He seemed to be breathing heavily, pupils dilated. His gun was also held unsteadily, which was unusual for the Japanese pilot.

"There's something in the house," Kero stated quietly, knowing that his words would have only meaning for Duo, even if Heero could hear him.

~*~*~*~

**"You are letting your emotions get in the way, boy. Can you not see how that idiot pupil of G's has gotten to you? G ordered him to do that, can't you see? What did I train you for?" The cyborg stood in front of the open doorway, looking completely unaffected by the strangling he just received. He was scowling darkly in disapproval.**

**He could hear Dr. J talking to him, J moving closer to him, J constantly berating him for his friendship with Duo.**

**"It's making you careless.....There is no one who would befriend a dangerous experiment, not without reasons....."**

**If it could be called friendship.....Duo wasn't under orders to befriend him from G, was he? Was that why the American constantly pestered him, always asking about his activities, trying to hack into his computer?**

**"Pilot 02 may just want to use you for his own needs....."**

**And how could he be so stupid to think that Duo would _want_ to be his friend? Duo told him nothing, only bothered him about his life, his missions, his interests.**

**In that moment Heero _hated_ J, hated the scientist for making him who he was, a cold distant soldier, a soldier who could not understand friendship.....and love.**

**"What the hell is wrong with you?"**

**The Perfect Soldier pulled out his gun. "Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"**

**He opened fire on J.**

~*~*~*~

"Duo!"

The American promptly hit the floor as a bullet grazed his arm, rolling behind a sofa. The stuffing exploded in tufts of white as the rain of bullets traveled from the hapless wall to the furniture. Kero pinned himself to the ceiling, watching the drama unfold from above. Jumping from behind the shelter of the bullet-ridden sofa, Duo caught a glimpse of the Wing pilot's face.

Heero, for once, had an expression (other than crazy madness) on his face. He was clearly murderous, but also looked, in a way, terrified. He didn't seem to recognize Duo at all; he barely even took notice of the guardian who had just blown a nice fresh breath of fire at his head.

_What card could possibly be doing that to him?_ thought the Deathscythe pilot. Another question also lingered on his mind. **_Why_** _would the card do that? _He hastily ducked behind a rather comfy looking armchair that wouldn't quite look the same after its little ordeal.

"Kero! Goddammit, give me a few clues!"

"I'm not sure!!!"

Yelping as stuffing exploded into his face, Duo coughed and turned the other way, rolling into the leg of a piece (or pieces, he wasn't sure) of furniture. Before he could stop to take a breath, however, a weight slammed into his abdomen, and out went all his air.

The hands were around his neck again. Already deprived of what oxygen he had avoiding bullets (and heart attacks), Duo tried to wrench Heero's fingers off his life line. The edges of his vision were turning dark.

Suddenly, a scream wrenched itself from his throat, and power streaked through his veins—Duo's head exploded with pain. Eyes snapping shut, the Deathscythe pilot could feel the magic of the cards bouncing around inside his skull, hammering.

When Duo's eyelids opened again, his eyeballs were completely covered with white light.

Heero released his hold, taken aback by the holes in his illusion. A flash enveloped him, the luminosity blinding. When the Wing pilot's sight cleared, he looked down at the trapped person he was straddling.

It definitely wasn't Dr. J.

The Wing pilot jumped back, eyes sweeping over the person on the floor, who promptly curled up in a ball around his stomach. Duo felt air trying to squeeze in and out of him, pushing from both inside and outside. His head was imploding with a ferocious migraine, and there was still Heero.

Who was already outside the house, running from it and what he had done.

Slowing sailing down from the safe spot on the ceiling, Kero perched on the broken leg of an end table, eyeing Duo with a look of concern. "You don't have to rush to get up," the guardian quipped. "The card will be trapped inside Shield as long at it lasts."

Arms wobbling at the elbows as he pushed himself up off the floor, Duo peered up at Kero through the long bangs covering his forehead. "Yeah, I know that. I'm more worried about what it can do to the other guys than whether or not it will escape. I'm running short on energy, in case you haven't noticed, and I can't do a repeat of the situation that just happened....." His voice was raspy and rough, sounding wholly unlike himself. "What card was that?"

Kero sucked in a deep breath before answering. "That was Illusion."

"What?!" Duo yelled at the ceiling with what little effort he had left.

~*~*~*~

**"You always were the weak, uncaring scholar."**

**Wufei grunted, eyelids slowly sliding open. He blinked many times, recognizing the floor in his vision. He placed the palms of his hands onto the polished wood and pushed himself up, a loose strand of hair falling into his vision. Scowling, Wufei brushed it out of his eyes and stood up. When he looked out the doorway of the bedroom to see who had spoke, what he saw took him completely by surprise.**

**Standing on top of the stairs at the other end of the hall.....was his wife.**

**"Meiran," Wufei breathed. In the back of his head his mind shouted to him, that it wasn't possible, she was dead. That she died in that attack on their colony, and that somewhere in this mess OZ could be involved.**

**But she was there, standing right there. Not a figment of his imagination.....or was she?**

**"You're not worthy of piloting Nataku."**

**The Chinese pilot started out of his reverie. "What?"**

**"All that you do is useless. You are not fighting. You have no right to call your Gundam a symbol of justice......"**

**Stepping forward, Wufei's hand reached for Meiran.....He needed to explain to her, to tell her he was trying.....Or was he really?**

**Her eyes penetrated him imperiously, never straying from their focus. "You do nothing but moan about yourself, forever locked up in your own room reading your books. A man like you is worth nothing....."**

**_That's not true,_ he wanted to tell her, but in his mind he had doubts. He was fighting a useless war.**

**His feet began to move faster. In one breath, Wufei raced forward, right hand outstretched.....**

**.....And found himself passing right through the vanishing image of his dead wife. The stairs loomed before him, he was too far forward to stop now.....**

~*~*~*~

"Wufei!"

The Chinese pilot seemed to start out of his daze, but he was already falling. Duo, who had been climbing the staircase, reacted automatically (he _was_ a Gundam pilot), fingers gripping the right rail while his other hand pushed into the left wall. _This day is really going down....._ was a last thought before Wufei crashed right into him. Stars filled the Deathscythe pilot's vision; his left hand slipped and the two swung into the stair rail.

Somehow Duo managed to grasp Wufei's arm before the Chinese pilot fell any further. Wufei's legs banged on the steps; the wooden rail shook from their collision with the two pilots.

"Ow?....." Duo let go of the stair rail and slumped down on a step, releasing Wufei's arm as well. His hands went to his forehead, cradling what appeared to be the mightiest migraine had in the century. "Suddenly suicidal, Fei? What the hell were you doing?" The American trailed off with a moan, still massaging his head.

The other was silent. Rasping breaths escaped Wufei's throat, and he suddenly felt foolish. Meiran was dead; she had been for a while. She wasn't going to come back and start yelling at him like she used to.....

_But was she right? Am I really nothing in this war?_

"Wu?"

He jerked, and then stared at Duo, who looked at him in concern.

"You all right?"

Wufei stood up quickly, adverting his eyes. The Chinese pilot jumped down the stairs and headed for the front door. He didn't answer Duo's question even as he walked out. The expression on the latter pilot's face hardened.

"I've had enough," said Duo quietly. His tone had a dangerous edge on it, an edge that Kero now knew all too well.

It was Duo's, 'You've pissed me off way beyond the death thing' tone.

"The guys took a lot of strength to bury their pasts and get over whatever happened to them. It took them a long time to get their fears out of the way and work to their fullest abilities. Now....."

A cloud of white began to gather by the open front doors, swirling and changing into a dark gray.

"Now this card is just barging in and flipping all their minds into history and bringing their pain back to life."

Kero watched the cloud shape itself into a figure, another shadow. This time the guardian knew what the form was going to be.

"Their defenses have crashed down on them."

It was going to be someone of Duo's past. And the card captor knew it too.

"All because.....It wants to escape.....me."

The teenage Gundam pilot summoned the staff and held it at ready.

"I can't let it go.....Even if I want it to. Just because it's my job."

"Duo....."

"The title that I never wanted."

Smoke tore itself away from the cloud, peeling off the layer hiding the false person underneath. Wisps curled onto the floor and dissipated into invisible particles. In a few seconds, the shielding haze vanished, revealing a woman, dressed completely in black, with a look of hatred in her eyes. She spoke.

[(_You were always the black sheep. Look what you did to the church. If it weren't for you, Father Maxwell would be alive.....The people all around the area would be alive and uninjured....._)]

"The title of Card Captor Death....."

Duo gasped out the words as the woman bore down upon him, her words beating onto the Gundam pilot. Kero jumped in front of Duo's face.

"It's only Illusion!" the guardian screamed. "You can fight it!"

"I know, Kero, I know....." Duo's eyes glazed over, barely registering the presence of the guardian. He could only hear the hateful words of the lady, the woman known to him as Sister Helen. The woman who took him in when he was on L2, who had taught him with a patience that no one ever had.

_She isn't real! She's dead! She's gone, and she won't come back!_

"Be.....because of me....."

[(_Yes, because of you! Even now you hurt your friends. It is because of you they are suffering! Because of you Maxwell Church perished!_)]

"NO! You're lying, you're not Sister Helen—"

[(_Friends! They never thought of you as a friend! You were always a nuisance, a source of all troubles! Always it was your fault!_)]

"Sister Helen would never say that! She would never! She always forgave me....." Duo slapped his hands over his ears. "**Stop ruining my memories of her!**"

Illusion blinked, confused at why he wasn't falling to its magic. The card backed away as Duo raised the staff, the star at top now shining brilliantly.

"You're fake," he whispered fiercely. "An illusion and nothing more. False to the eyes, a false truth. Nothing like the real memories. Return to your card CONFINED!"

He roared the last word, braid swinging wildly about. The symbol of Sakura's Star whirred with his anger, streams of light blasting Illusion forcefully.

The card itself had known that it would fall to the Deathscythe pilot when Duo had stated his first sentence. It smiled bitterly, and just before it was pulled into its prison it laughed one last time.

[(_Am I any more false than you?_)]

~*~*~*~

Trowa was sitting on the roof watching the sunset when Duo found him. The green eye acknowledged the American's presence and then slid back to the scenery.

"Hi."

The taciturn teenager only nodded in return. Duo sat down beside Trowa, folding his legs together comfortably. He had taken off his shoes inside. Both stared silently at the sun.

Not surprisingly, Duo spoke first.

"Did you—"

"I heard everything that happened at the front door," interrupted Trowa, eye still focused in the distance.

"....."

"Illusion changed into Quatre's father." There was a pause. "He said he needed some time to think by himself."

"....." Unusually enough, Duo found himself not talking.

For the next few minutes, neither talked. The sun slipped below the horizon, leaving a few rays to shine in the fading blue sky. When it was completely dark, Trowa stood, heading back for the trapdoor going down. He stopped before he got there.

"I saw somebody from my past. Dead, forgotten memories." Trowa glanced up at the stars. "Now the cards are bothering us too."

"I'm sorry."

"Those words may not be enough next time." Pilot 03 climbed down the ladder and out of sight.

A small shape hovered up from the side. Duo didn't need to take a good look in the dark to know who it was. Kero settled down on the roof next to the Deathscythe pilot, wings flapping quietly.

"You did great against Illusion today," Kero offered, voice sounding more hopeful then complimentary.

"How nice." Standing and brushing his pants off, Duo walked back to the trapdoor. "I wish I could say the same about my friendships and relationships." The teen paused. "You coming?"

"Later."

Duo shut the trapdoor.

_So much has happened in just one day. I'm surprised Duo has the energy to stand, especially after using Time and capturing Illusion. He's much stronger than I thought he was._ The guardian floated over to the edge of the house, looking down. Several windows were lit, and he could see shadows moving around inside. _His anger at the card fueled his power.....Once again, the emotion problem. His mood swings pose a threat to even himself.....The final judgment is approaching.....It should yield some answers._

_The new individuality of the cards also worry me.....Illusion shouldn't have reacted so badly against Duo. They've formed emotions.....Maybe that's why Duo's even more connected to them?_

~*~*~*~

"Hey."

Heero didn't even look over his shoulder. He continued his typing, random characters spewing into his lighted screen. _Concentrate_, the Japanese teen thought fiercely.

Duo stared at the back of the other pilot, blinking a few times. He bit his lip. "About earlier today—"

"I'm leaving tomorrow morning on a new mission," interrupted Heero, eyes focused on his computer. "Don't bother me while I'm preparing."

Behind him, Duo's expression hardened. He felt like punching Heero, but it wasn't a good idea on the long run. Thoughts of bitter words flushed through his brain, swirling in the already muddled corners of his mind.

"Fine."

A pressure released its hole on Heero; he felt relieved for some reason, and he didn't know why. _Why should I care about his opinion that much?_

"But don't think that running away will solve your problems, Heero. It won't. You and I both know how you feel about me."

The Wing pilot's fingers froze on the keyboard.

"I can admit, Heero, I like you. Not just as a friend." Duo wet his lips; his throat felt very dry.

"Maybe it's not going to work out. Maybe it'll interfere with the mission, or whatever. But you don't know what will happen until it really happens.....You can think about it on this mission alone. I'll wait for an answer.

".....I can only wait so long."

He closed the door behind him, and sagged slightly on it. A bad feeling crept into his heart. _I'm running out of time....._

~*~*~*~

Number of cards left to be captured - **[3]**  
Cards captured in this chapter - Sand, Return, Illusion


End file.
